Maurice Hinchey: “when the specific provisions contained in this bill as before us this morning first came before the House in the 106th…”

“when the specific provisions contained in this bill as before us this morning first came before the House in the 106th Congress, there were only a handful of us who voted against it, in spite of the fact that the bill was enormously complex, incredibly detailed, and hardly anyone, other than staff members, had any real idea of what was in it. We voted against it because we thought that the bill would harm the retirement circumstances for the vast majority of Americans, while, at the same time, it would provide ways in which those who were in charge of the retirement systems in individual companies could manipulate those systems in ways that would benefit them specifically and injure the vast majority of their employees. When the bill came back last year, a larger number of people voted against it. It was contained in a larger bill. Why? Because I think people are beginning to realize very clearly what is going on here. The whole pension program in this country is under change; and in fact, the pensions of the vast majority of Americans are under assault. The previously popular defined benefit plans, which most corporations had for most of their employees, have now essentially gone out the window. We have flexible plans, plans that are undefined, plans that are not clear as to what the benefits will be.”