madam speaker , house resolution 602 is a closed rule providing for 90 minutes of debate in the house on h.r. 2830 , the pension protection act , as amended , to be equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the committee on education and the workforce and the chairman and ranking minority member of the committee on ways and means . 
the rules waives all points of order against consideration of the bill . 
in lieu of the amendments recommended by the committees on education and the workforce and ways and means now printed in the bill , the amendment in the nature of a substitute printed in part a of the report of the committee on rules accompanying the resolution shall be considered as adopted . 
the rule waives all points madam speaker , the recent financial troubles and pension terminations at several large companies underscore the need for fundamental pension reform . 
h.r. 2830 , the pension protection act , will ensure that millions of hardworking americans who rely on single and multi-employer pension benefits can continue to count on them . 
it is vital that we modernize current pension laws by strengthening workers ' retirement security and reducing the prospect of a future multi-billion-dollar taxpayer bailout . 
the pension protection act will fix outdated pension rules and help workers by giving employers incentives to properly and adequately fund their pension plans , and by enhancing transparency and disclosures about the status of their pension plans . 
in recent years , we have seen participants mistakenly believe that their pension plans were well funded , only to be surprised when their plan was abruptly terminated . 
this bill is intended to end that practice . 
the pension protection act encourages workers to increase their personal savings by permanently extending several provisions to enhance pension participation and retirement savings that are currently set to expire in the year 2010 . 
among the provisions to be permanently extended are : increasing annual contribution limits for individual retirement accounts and qualified pension plans , allowing additional catchup contributions to individuals age 50 and older , and establishing incentives for small employers to offer pension plans . 
the bill also encourages lower income workers and families to plan and save for their retirement by permanently extending a federal `` match '' in the form of an income tax credit for the first $ 2 , 000 of annual contributions to an individual retirement account or qualified pension plan . 
madam speaker , the pension protection act implements a comprehensive and bipartisan investment advice proposal that allows employers to provide workers access to qualified investment advisers who can inform them of the need to diversify and help them choose appropriate investments while including safeguards to ensure that the advice is solely in their best interest . 
this changes outdated federal rules which actually discourage employers from providing workers with access to professional advice . 
one provision , madam speaker , i am especially pleased was included in this bill , was to allow employees who participate in tax-preferred flexible spending accounts to carry forward up to $ 500 of their unused balances each year . 
this provides flexibility to employees that otherwise must use all of their balances each year or lose it to their employers . 
madam speaker , without a comprehensive fix to our outdated pension plans more companies will default on their worker pension plans and more will stop providing defined benefit pension plans to their workers entirely . 
now is the time for congress to act on this important piece of legislation . 
the rules committee approved this house resolution 602 by a voice vote . 
accordingly , i encourage my colleagues to support the rule and the underlying bill , the pension protection act . 
madam speaker , i reserve the balance of my time . 
