mr. speaker , i rise today in strong opposition to h.r. 2830 , which would be better titled the republican pension destruction act . 
american workers deserve much better than a bill that will reduce employee pensions and provide incentives for employers to break pension promises to employees . 
recent bankruptcies in the airline industry shed a bright light on exactly what big corporations are up to . 
a few months ago , united airlines dumped its flight attendant pension program onto the pension benefit guaranty corporation ( pbgc ) -- a government organization meant to serve as an insurance policy for corporations who can no longer afford to meet their pension obligations . 
the pbgc , however , does not fund pensions at 100 percent , instead making a reduced payment to retired employees . 
as a result , tens of thousands of united employees , past and present , will receive smaller pension payments than they deserve . 
unbelievably , in the same bankruptcy proceedings united airline 's ceo glen tilton was allowed to keep his $ 4.5 million pension . 
this is unacceptable , and the bill offered today does nothing to prevent ceos from opening these golden parachutes while their employees are forced to take a reduction in their benefits . 
i 've heard from hundreds of constituents on this issue . 
i ca n't say it any better than this former united employee from hayward , ca who made the following statement during an e-hearing i have been co-hosting regarding the united airlines crisis . 
`` i worked for united airlines 35 years as a mechanic . 
two years ago i retired with the promise that my pension was safe . 
if i lose a big chunk of pension i will have to sell my house and take my almost blind wife to another state where it 's cheaper to live . 
away from our doctors and family . 
i am not able to work anymore -- physically unable -- can you help us ? 
`` we could help united employees and the retirement security of millions of americans by passing real pension reform , but republicans would rather destroy pensions instead of protecting them . 
when democrats offered legislation to fix the pension solvency issue by protecting retirees and forcing ceos to be held accountable , the republican majority would n't bring it up for a vote because it could have passed . 
sadly , this is just one more example of republicans siding with corporate campaign donors instead of working americans . 
the list of problems associated with this bill is seemingly endless . 
the pbgc itself says its own ability to cover pensions will decrease by $ 2.5 billion under this bill . 
the republican bill does nothing to protect airline employees . 
and in a final slap in the face to hardworking taxpayers , the bill adds $ 71 billion to the deficit over the next 10 years , because republicans refuse to be fiscally responsible and pay for their reforms . 
this republican pension bill undermines retirement security and puts the once guaranteed pension benefits of millions of hard working americans in jeopardy . 
i urge all my colleagues to vote `` no '' on this bill . 
