mr. speaker , i thank the gentleman for yielding me this time .  i would like to offer my support also for the comprehensive pension reform legislation that we are now considering .  i would also like to congratulate and thank chairman boehner and chairman thomas for their hard work in getting us to a point where we can make meaningful and necessary reforms to our pension system .  it has become very clear to us that the laws governing pension plans are antiquated .  this is evident from recent high-profile bankruptcies , pension plan terminations and the pension benefit guaranty corporation 's , pbgc , latest report of a $ 22.8 billion long-term deficit .  it would be criminal if congress were to ignore these instances and not do something to protect the interests of workers , retirees and taxpayers alike .  as we have all heard here this afternoon , h.r. 2830 will strengthen pension plan funding rules , provide workers with meaningful disclosure about the health of their pension plans and protect taxpayers from a possible multi-billion dollar bailout of the pbgc .  i would like to highlight a couple of provisions within the bill that i believe are also vital to the health of the system .  first , many workers and retirees in recent years mistakenly believed that their pension plans were well funded only to receive a shock when the plan was terminated .  without basic information , workers and retirees are left without the most basic tool they need to hold their employers accountable : complete and accurate information about the true funded status of their pension plans .  the pension protection act ensures workers and retirees are given timely , accurate and straightforward information about the health of their plans and thus their own financial future .  it is my belief that requiring transparency is one of the most important things that congress can do for employees .  second , when pension plans are underfunded and worker retirement security is in jeopardy , excessive executive compensation packages can add insult to injury by heaping lavish benefits on executives while workers and retirees wonder if they will have any retirement benefit at all .  the pension protection act restricts the funding of such executive compensation arrangements if an employer has a severely underfunded plan .  moreover , it requires plans that become subject to these limitations to notify affected workers and retirees .  again , i thank the chairmen for their leadership , and i urge my colleagues to support the pension protection act .  