mr. speaker , i rise in opposition to the so-called pension `` reform '' bill today on the house floor . 
the bill before us today fails to address fundamental problems that have robbed millions of hard-working americans of the retirement benefits they have earned . 
this republican bill will not prevent companies from dumping their pension plans onto the pension benefit guarantee corporation ( pbgc ) , which already is burdened with a $ 23 billion deficit and may have to be bailed out by taxpayers . 
this bill does nothing to protect older workers when their pension plan is converted to a `` cash-balance '' plan that could short-change them of the benefits they have accrued . 
this bill also contains provisions that increase the costs and regulations for companies to maintain pension plans to the point that many companies will freeze or abandon their plans , accelerating the growing pension crisis . 
democrats were not permitted to offer amendments to improve this bill . 
while i can not support this flawed , misguided republican bill , i support the democratic substitute offered by representative miller , representative rangel and representative cardin . 
the democratic substitute would stabilize existing pension plans by extending for 2 years the corporate-bond-rate used to determine pbgc liabilities , encourage employers to maintain defined benefit plans without cuts in workers ' pension benefits , and protect older workers during cash-balance conversions . 
as the pensions of workers remain at risk , i am concerned about conflicts-of-interest , hidden financial arrangements and unlawful activities that may be causing or contributing to the poor financial health of pension plans at companies across the country . 
in may 2005 , the securities and exchange commission ( sec ) released a report , `` examinations of select pension consultants '' , that revealed significant conflict-of-interest and non-disclosure issues within the pension plan consultant industry . 
specifically , the sec found , among other conclusions , that : [ p ] ension consultants may steer clients to hire certain money managers and other vendors based on the pension consultant 's ( or affiliate 's ) other business relationships and receipt of fees from these firms , rather than because the money manager is best-suited to the client 's needs . 
such a conflict can compromise the fiduciary duty that investment advisers owe their clients . 
the findings included in the commission 's report are particularly disturbing for pension plan beneficiaries , whose benefit payments are dependent upon their plan management 's diligent performance of its fiduciary duties , and for the federal government , which is faced with an enormous deficit at the pension benefit guaranty corporation ( pbgc ) as a result of a series of massive corporate bankruptcies that have resulted in pbgc assumption of severely underfunded pension plans terminated when the corporations entered bankruptcy . 
representative miller and i have requested that the government accountability office ( gao ) investigate whether the federal government is aggressively regulating and enforcing statutes intended to protect pension plans and their beneficiaries from conflicts-of-interest and similar undisclosed relationships that can impair pension fund returns . 
we have urged gao to examine whether any of the 3 , 500 terminated pension plans that are now the responsibility of the pbgc may have been adversely affected -- prior to pbgc assumption ofthe plans ' liabilities -- by the types of conflicts and hidden financial arrangements uncovered by the sec . 
i am hopeful that the pension legislation considered today by the house will be greatly improved during the conference with the senate , so that we can have a vote on pension reform legislation that actually addresses the real problems that exist in the current system . 
additionally , i look forward to gao 's work in the important area of pension fund consultants . 
the ongoing crisis in the pension fund marketplace requires a thorough , independent review to identify problems with government regulation and enforcement and recommend improvements . 
american workers have relied on the pension promises of their employers . 
it is unconscionable to abandon these workers . 
i urge a `` no '' vote on this republican pension bill , and a `` yes '' vote on the democratic substitute . 
