Rob Portman: “I thank my colleague. I agree with him. As both my colleagues here know and as my friends across the aisle know, I…”

“I thank my colleague. I agree with him. As both my colleagues here know and as my friends across the aisle know, I strongly support the underlying legislation. I think the legislation is needed right now. Unbelievably, if you are in a small business, less than 50 percent of the workers have access to retirement plans. Two-thirds of Americans think they will be in trouble in retirement because they will not have enough money to take care of their retirements. Do you know what? They are right to be worried, for we have a huge problem in this country, and that is what the underlying bill addresses. It helps small businesses in their ability to offer plans, which is where most of the problem is in terms of there being a lack of retirement savings and the peace of mind in retirement that all of our constituents want. The problem is that the legislation that came over from the House was never considered here on the Senate floor. In fact, if you go back to 2016, when it was last considered, it was by the Committee on Finance. So I think it is reasonable to say, yes, this underlying bill is good, and I strongly support it, but let's have a little debate here on the floor. We shouldn't be afraid of that. Let me make a point. I support what my colleague from Pennsylvania talked about in terms of the qualified improvement property, and I support what my colleague from Texas said in terms of the 529 plans.…”