I want to thank you for making such a good faith effort to raise an issue we really need to raise.

I want to thank General and Mr. Secretary, Secretary Hale for your service to our country and particularly, Secretary Panetta and Mr. Hale, your accessibility to members of this committee and the Congress.

At a time when we should be considering the president's job proposal, we are having an exquisitely interesting constitutional law seminar.

I really do think this is a problem with a solution.

That promise is nonnegotiable.

Employers have a responsibility to do everything they can to meet their commitments and help ensure the loss of a job is not exacerbated by the loss of their retirement benefits.

The end of the bargain that is coming to them is that they are guaranteed, in some cases, a pension check for the rest of their lives.

It is deeply unfortunate when this difficulty is compounded by poor management at PBGC.

I think Dr. Heck's question is well founded.

Congress must remain engaged, and that is why I am concerned about surrendering some of our authority in this area.

A person who has gone out every day and done what he or she is supposed to do and relies on that pension check should never have to worry that their personal version of the American dream will be imperiled because the pension won't be…