Political Quotes

“I am pleased to see that H.R. 4348 includes pension reform provisions that will allow businesses to invest more to create jobs, while generating over $9 billion in Treasury revenue over the next 10 years. H.R. 4348's pension reforms are critical to help businesses create jobs in a struggling economy. However, I am concerned these vital reforms will be incomplete if financial reporting requirements known as Generally Accepted Accounting Principles do not conform to H.R. 4348's changes in law. H.R. 4348 does not provide a deadline to adjust these financial reporting requirements to match the bill's pension reforms. We should expect prompt harmonization between the law and how pension obligations are reported on companies' financial statements. If there is not harmonization many company balance sheets will be required to show inflated liabilities that H.R. 4348's pension reforms seek to address. The clear policy of H.R. 4348 is that pension funding be calculated by a more stable, long-term method. I expect, and Congress should expect, that financial reporting requirements conform with Congress's clear intent on this issue. Financial statements should be consistent with the rate stabilization set forth in this legislation.”