mr. speaker , i rise today in strong support of h.r. 2830 , the pension protection act of 2005 . 
i applaud the chairman of the ways and means committee , the distinguished bill thomas , as well as the chairman of the education and workforce committee , john boehner , for their hard work and leadership on this issue . 
protecting the pensions of millions of americans is a top priority for this 109th congress and h.r. 2830 is strong legislation designed to that end . 
i rise today to also thank chairman thomas for his inclusion in the pension protection act of legislation i introduced related to the waiver of a 10 percent federal tax penalty for public safety employees -- our nation 's firefighters , police officers and emergency medical personnel . 
people who put their lives on the iine for us everyday deserve our full support and they are receiving that support here today thanks to chairman thomas . 
many public safety personnel begin their careers at a young age . 
they will vest in their regular pension plans and , even if they participate in one of the new deferred plans and remain on the job longer , will be eligible for retirement before they reach age 55 . 
for example , in houston the average firefighter begins his career at age 23 . 
after 20 years of service , now age 43 , the average firefighter is fully vested in the regular pension fund and can retire and begin receiving benefits immediately . 
today , the firefighter can participate in the deferred plan for up to an additional 10 years . 
if the firefighter participates for the full 10 years and then elects to retire , he or she will be age 53 and , in general , will not be able to take distributions prior to the age of 59 1/2 without triggering the 10-percent penalty . 
for distributions to public safety employees that are subject to the 10-percent penalty , section 905 of h.r. 2830 would waive the penalty . 
this provision has received considerable attention and support during this and previous congresses . 
the effort began in 2002 , when my texas colleague , congressman gene green , introduced h.r. 4796 . 
later that year , senator jim inhofe introduced companion language , s. 3072 . 
mr. speaker , in closing , i want to applaud my house colleagues and , particular , ways and means chairman thomas , to whom i would like to express the deep gratitude of our nation 's firefighters , police and emergency medical service employees for including section 905 in the house bill and moving the issue forward . 
i strongly urge my colleagues to support passage of h.r. 2830 , the pension protection act . 
