Political Quotes

“Thanks to my colleague from Maryland for yielding to me. It is great to be back on the floor with him talking about retirement savings. Back in 1996 and again in 2001 and 2006, we passed legislation while we were in the House of Representatives together to encourage people to save more for their retirement by providing more incentives, such as increasing, as an example, the amount you could put aside in a 401(k) or an IRA and catchup contributions and simplifying the rules for small businesses, and we made some progress. Those legislative initiatives resulted in about a doubling of 401(k) assets and about a tripling of IRA assets but still way too little in savings. Senator Cardin talked a little about that. Our national savings rate is a problem. Our personal savings rate is a problem. Our economy would be stronger if we had more savings. The real problem is that people just aren't saving enough for their retirement. Social Security is an absolutely essential safety net. Everybody wants to be sure it will be there into the future. But it is tough to live on your Social Security benefit alone. People need that private retirement savings. We want to encourage people to save more for their own retirement. What is more important than peace of mind in retirement, knowing that you have the ability to take care of your needs--maybe long-term care needs, maybe healthcare needs, or maybe just being able to have a comfortable retirement. This is something we are focusing on again.…”