{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.enzi.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/speeches?ContentRecord_id=B4828243-0338-46CD-A788-7A80C87CBCBD", "Senator Mike Enzis Michael B. Enzi speech on pension issues", "2016-07-12", "2016", "2016-07", "Republican", "House", "WY", "Michael Enzi", "E000285", "www.enzi.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Mr. President, private sector pensions are relied upon by millions of Americans for retirement security.\u00a0 They are agreements made between an employer and its employees, or a union and its members, which allow the recipients to receive payments in retirement.\u00a0 Those payments are based on a formula that includes a number of factors, including years of service.\u00a0\r\nI\u2019ve worked on pension policy for all of my professional life.\u00a0 I\u2019ve dealt with pensions as a young accountant, Mayor of the City of Gillette, Wyoming, Member of the Wyoming Legislature, Member of the Senate Pensions Committee, Chairman of the Senate Pensions Committee, Member of the Senate Finance Committee, Chairman of the Senate Retirement Security Subcommittee, Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, and Chairman of the Conference Committee on the 2006 Pension Protection Act that saved pensions for thousands of workers without wholesale business bankruptcy.\r\nI also authored that 2006 Pension Protection Act, which dramatically altered the funding rules and made single employer pension plans much more stable.\u00a0 The Act also made significant changes to defined contribution plans that drastically improved participation.\r\nI believe it\u2019s safe to say that I speak today from my experience as a Member of this body with a large background in pension policy, and I am concerned about where we are heading.\r\nOut of the 24,361 single employer pension plans that we have information on, 4,486 are underfunded.\u00a0 The most recent actuarial estimations of that underfunding by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is over $758 billion, which should concern us all because the assets of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation\u2019s single-employer insurance program total only $85 billion.\u00a0 Mr. President, let me say that another way: the insurance program for that $758 billion only has $85 billion in assets.\r\nBut that\u2019s not even our biggest pension problem.\u00a0 Out of the 1,361 multiemployer pension plans \u2013 that means collectively bargained agreements \u2013 that we have information on, 1,238 are underfunded.\u00a0 The most recent actuarial estimations of that underfunding is just over $611 billion, even though the assets of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation\u2019s multiemployer insurance program total only $1.9 billion.\u00a0 In other words, the safety net for that $611 billion is only $1.9 billion.\u00a0 I would equate that to trying to catching a whale shark with a net made for minnows.\r\nThis shouldn\u2019t come as a surprise to anyone.\u00a0 The PBGC wrote in its 2015 annual report that \u201cit is more likely than not that the multiemployer program\u2019s assets will be depleted in 2025.\u201d\u00a0 The insurance policy for collectively bargained pensions is on track to become insolvent in less than a decade.\r\nAltogether, private sector pensions are underfunded by about $1.35 trillion or to put it in a better perspective, by $1,350 billion.\u00a0 On top of that, per the most recent actuarial data available for state and local pensions, the total amount of underfunding in public sector pension plans is $1.2 trillion, or $1,200 billion.\r\nSo, Mr. President, the total amount of unfunded liabilities in both private and public sector pension plans is around $2.6 trillion.\u00a0 That means that these pension plans have agreed to pay out $2.6 trillion more than they have available.\r\nFor reference, $2.6 trillion, or $2,600 billion, is more than double what our current annual discretionary spending is.\u00a0 That\u2019s more than double what we in the Congress make annual spending decisions on, including defense, transportation, agriculture and education.\r\nI have heard some of my colleagues come to the Senate Floor and speak to the troubling predicaments of specific pension plans.\u00a0 Many of them are currently advocating for shoring-up the United Mine Workers of America pension plan, which is just one of the 1,238 union pension plans that are underfunded. I am concerned about this for several reasons.\r\nFirst, if we take the steps my colleagues are advocating for with regard to the UMWA, what are we going to do when the next underfunded pension plan comes looking for assistance?\u00a0 And what about the plan after that?\u00a0 There are hundreds of private-sector pension plans in critical, endangered, or declining status throughout America today, so I\u2019m not sure how Congress would help the UMWA and not the others.\u00a0 Paraphrasing President Washington: We are walking on untrodden ground.\u00a0 There is scarcely any part of our conduct which may not hereafter be drawn into precedent.\r\nI\u2019ve frequently heard my colleagues try to differentiate this case by speaking of a promise of a pension that was made to retirees in this particular union.\u00a0 But that agreement was between the members and the union, it was not an agreement with the federal government.\u00a0\r\nSecond, I find it necessary to remind my colleagues that this country is $19 trillion in debt and consistently increasing our spending.\u00a0 We don\u2019t have the money to shore-up pension plans.\r\nAnd to be clear, despite proponents arguing that this legislation is paid for by coal companies\u2019 contributions to the Abandoned Mine Land trust, in reality, it would be paid for by taxpayers.\r\nThe Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act is funded by a tax levied on mining operators per tonnage of coal harvested.\u00a0 Interest from the AML fund can currently be transferred to three trusts to support UMWA healthcare benefits, and if the AML interest does not cover those healthcare costs, the three UMWA healthcare plans are entitled to payments from the U.S. Treasury.\u00a0 Mr. President, the AML interest payments are often not sufficient to meet the three UMWA healthcare plans\u2019 needs, so the General Fund of the Treasury provides the balance.\u00a0 For example, in FY 2012, interest from the AML fund paid $48.4 million towards UMWA healthcare funds and the U.S. Treasury General Fund \u2013 taxpayer dollars \u2013 provided $205.6 million.\u00a0 Now my colleagues are asking taxpayers to pay for even more than healthcare for UMWA beneficiaries.\u00a0\r\nAnd the portion of funds coming from the U.S. Treasury will only increase.\u00a0 As I mentioned, the AML trust is funded by a tax levied on coal harvested.\u00a0 The key word there is \u201charvested.\u201d\u00a0 It breaks my heart to say this, but according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. coal production \u2013 or harvesting \u2013 is projected to be down over 25 percent this year as compared to 2014.\u00a0 That\u2019s due in large part to the Mercury Air Toxics Standards Rule, the Stream Protection Rule, the Clean Power Plan, the freeze on federal coal leases, the proposed increase in coal royalty rates, and everything else this Administration is doing to shut down coal.\u00a0 Less coal being harvested means less taxes will be paid into the AML trust fund. \u00a0As those AML dollars dry up, more and more of the money this bill proposes to use for UMWA healthcare and pensions will come from taxpayer dollars.\r\nAgain I\u2019ll point out that this agreement was made between the members and the union, not between the members and the American taxpayer.\u00a0 Mr. President, that bears repeating: the UMWA agreement was made between the members and the UMWA, not between the members and the American taxpayer.\u00a0\r\nIt\u2019s also worth noting that the AML fund is not unique in that it is comprised of fees paid by a specific industry or user base.\u00a0 One of the most significant pension problems we hear about today is the Central States Pension Fund, which includes a large number of truckers. That fund is going broke, so I want to offer my colleagues an analogy using that fund.\u00a0\r\nTo be sure that there are roads to drive on, trucking companies pay a higher tax on their diesel fuel as well as taxes on truck and trailer sales, heavy tires, and heavy vehicle usage.\u00a0 Together with a tax that all consumers pay on every gallon of gasoline purchased, these taxes fund the Highway Trust Fund. This \u201ctrust fund\u201d for highways builds roads and pays for repairs and new bridges that the trucking industry and other drivers rely on. Using a dwindling AML trust fund to shore up the UMWA pension would be like shoring up the Central States Pension Fund with the fund that builds highways because truckers pay into the highway fund. That is what UMWA is asking us to do!\r\nMy guess is if we examined all the pension plans in critical and declining or endangered status, we could probably identify a fund that relevant employers or employees paid into in some way.\u00a0 If we go down this road, what\u2019s to stop those funds from being raided to shore-up the quasi-related pensions?\u00a0 Where do we draw the line?\u00a0\r\nLastly, I worry about the claims that we are helping all coal miners with this proposal, when in reality, the policy does absolutely nothing for miners who are not members of the UMWA.\u00a0 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 11,000 workers in the coal industry have lost their jobs in the last year, largely due to this administration\u2019s policies.\u00a0 Yet my colleagues have proposed a bill that would help only a portion of those people.\u00a0 And the bill wouldn\u2019t help put those folks back to work, developing the energy source that generated 33% of America\u2019s electricity last year.\u00a0 Instead, proponents of this bill are saying: if you\u2019re a member of the United Mine Workers of America, we want to help with your healthcare and pensions.\u00a0 But if you\u2019re not, or if you want your job back, then too bad.\u00a0\r\nMr. President, I am not without sympathy for the UMWA coal miners.\u00a0 Coal miners play an integral part in our economy, and my colleagues have heard me say time and again that America runs on coal. \u00a0Nowhere is that more evident than in my home state of Wyoming, which produces 40% of our Nation\u2019s coal.\u00a0 In fact, we produce more coal than the second through sixth states in coal production combined.\r\nI have the deepest respect for coal miners and am worried about those who have been laid off in Wyoming and across the country.\u00a0 I understand the unique healthcare needs of miners, and I respect the healthcare promise that this country has made to the miners over many decades.\u00a0 I have supported those healthcare needs in the past, most specifically by working across the aisle to shore-up the three UMWA healthcare funds back in the mid-2000\u2019s.\u00a0 I believe it\u2019s important that coal miners continue to receive quality healthcare.\u00a0 I also believe that it\u2019s crucial that they, as well as all other Americans, have the opportunity to live out their retirement years in financial solvency.\u00a0 But I also want America to remain financially solvent.\u00a0 I don\u2019t believe the efforts of my colleagues advocating for this UMWA bill help UMWA miners in a way that is fair to the federal taxpayers or coal miners across America.\r\nI also know the troubling truth about some of America\u2019s pension plans, as well as the faces of the participants within those plans.\u00a0 I\u2019ve met them and heard their stories throughout my professional life.\u00a0 There are facets of our retirement system that we can fix to help retirees, but I remained concerned about the use of federal tax dollars to shore-up a specific pension plan and to make false promises.\r\nThank you, Mr. President.\u00a0 I yield the floor.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.enzi.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/speeches?ContentRecord_id=B4828243-0338-46CD-A788-7A80C87CBCBD"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.7154328525066376, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}