Problem with multiemployer pensions, which needs to be addressed. However, this bill, i believe, will actually set us back. It does nothing to address the underlying structural issues of these plans. It actually does nothing to protect younger workers who will be asked to keep paying into a system which remains troubled. And it saddles taxpayers with liabilities which are unlikely to be paid back at a massive cost to taxpayers. Let me provide just one alarming example of how flawed this proposal is, which i also highlighted in our committee markup. Under this legislation, if a pension plan applies for a loan and the newly administration cannot make a determination on that plans ability to repay in order to approve or deny the loan within 90 days, the loan would be automatically deemed approved. Taxpayers deserve timely responses from treasury, but no Reputable Institution would rubber stamp loans like this. Pensioners and taxpayers both deserve better. Lets Work Together to deliver a real solution. I certainly urge opposition to this bill so we can together focus on beater solution. Thank you. On a better solution. Thank you. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the entleman from massachusetts. Mr. Neal let me yield one minute to congressman pascrell. The speaker pro tempore the congressman is recognized. Mr. Pascrell well, well, well, ok. For years, multiemployer Pension Plans offered workingclass americans something almost priceless. This security was provided through collective bargaining benefit plans. Workers put in their hardearned dollars and they did not fall down on their obligations, but the promise of a safe and secure retirement. Workers entered into a contract. You know what a contract is . Industry deregular like. The decrease in the unionized work force and the devastating you had the house of representatives for so many years in the last 20 years, you never introduced a labor bill. What are you talking about . Bipartisan . His means almost 200 multiemployer plans are projected to fail. Some of them are going to be in your district, your district. Plans are projected to fail, many within the next 10 years. 1. 3 million are at risk. Thank you. At the joint Committee Hearing st year, my constituent said monthly benefits are on the verge of being cut by 61 . Read that. And my 0 to biggest fear is losing my home. And thanks to the Butch Lewis Act which creates the blicprivate partnership, 1. Million americans wont have to fear. And i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from texas is re recognized. Mr. Brady i yield one minute, the gentleman from kansas. I rise today in opposition in h. R. 397. Protecting pensions and protecting security should be e area where republicans and democrats can agree. As the gentleman indicated earlier, these plaps need structural reform. H. R. 397 falls short of making any meaningful reforms to provide a method to pay back the loans. T proys loans that are insolvent or in danger of becoming insolvent. This throws out taxpayer dollars. This is unacceptable. We can and should do better. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle have rushed this with zero republican feedback. I believe we should Work Together on serious Bipartisan Solutions to make sure the reforms so we dont get back in this situation again. S kansas state treasurer, we reformed the public Pension System and we should do that with this system as well. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from texas reserves. The gentleman from massachusetts. Mr. Neal i yield one minute to he the gentleman from chicago, representative davis. Mr. Davis i rise in strong support of the Butch Lewis Act and i do so because we are not talking about bailing out savings and loans or not giving tax breaks to the wealthiest 1 but talking about protecting the benefits of hardworking men and women, who have worked for decades, truck drivers, bakers, grocery clerks, coal miners, people who have given their all to make sure that our communities continue to live and thrive. I commend chairman neal, chairman scott, the democratic leadership, for bringing this bill to the floor. I urge that everybody vote for it. Vote for the men and women who have kept america strong. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. The gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Brady i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. Mr. Neal let me yield one minute to the the gentleman from new york, mr. Higgins. Mr. Higgins 10 years ago congress extended federally secured nointerest loans to the banking and the auto workers. It was the reckless activities that caused the economic crisis and nothing for the american families, working american families. In 2017, this Congress Passed a 14 Corporate Tax cut creating a 2 trillion debt that to many of these same industries that almost steroid the American Economy and nothing for americas working families. Ension plans cover 1. 5 million families. Working families from buffalo to boston are threatened with their Retirement Savings being ripped away from them. Mr. Speaker, the Butch Lewis Act brought to the floor under the leadership of richard neal and bobby scott will provide Financial Security for hardworking americans and i urge its passage. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Brady i reserve. Mr. Neal let me yield one minute to congresswoman chu. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman is recognized. Ms. Chu i rise to offer my strong support of the Butch Lewis Act. This bill would ensure that multiemployer Pension Plans can provide security to millions of retired workers from everybody from the teamsters to the united food workers. This is important for my district which is home to musicians. Actors, fund isamerican pension sent to run out of money. In fact, it is tragic that this fund has been put in position to applying to the u. S. Treasury for reduction in the benefits, these benefits that these workers put in hard work. It would give Pension Funds to help buildup their funds ensuring that they could keep the full benefits that they earned and counted on. I urge my colleagues to vote for the Butch Lewis Act. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. Mr. Neal i reserve. Let me recognize the gentleman rom new york for one minute. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Every democrat and every republican in this house believes or should believe if you go to work every single day, you should have a decent life in america. If you work hard, you make enough money and find a place to live and educate your children and retire one day without being scared. And 1. 3 million americans are scared che they will lose their retirement benefits. We have to Work Together to solve this problem. Chairman neal has been working on this the past two years. Lets do it already. This is your opportunity to move together to help hardworking people to save the American Dream for the people who have put the hard work in. Time to protect these people and time to Work Together now and pass the Butch Lewis Act. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. The gentleman from texas. Mr. Neal i recognize myself for two minutes. We heard repeatedly during this debate that somehow this is a bail out. I even heard one speaker reference public Pension Plans, what has this got to do with this . The subject in front of us is the multiemployer pension plan system that is in no fault for the individuals that were supposed to receive the benefit based upon the contribution they made. Instead we find ourselves in a position where the argument has become that somehow this is a bail quout of special interests. This is a backstop of hardworking men and women who have set aside prescribed number of dollars for the purpose of enjoying a period of time in their lives that they have carefully planned for. Let me draw attention to the following. For two years we have worked on this legislation and i know there are men and women on both sides who would like to find a solution, but the truth is, this is the only plan in town. This is the only plan that has been submitted formally or informally after two years of planning and work and exhaustive one year of a special commission solution to with no the problem. So instead, we constructed through a careful process where everybody on the ways and Means Committee has been heard. I have been around to have a respect for the minority and they get to offer amendments. They offered those amendments. I was prepared to accept a couple of those amendments that i thought were actually pretty good. The provision being that i attached it to accept the amendment, they would have to vote for the legislation. And despite what we are hearing this doesnt have a chance in the senate, i disagree with that. I disagree with that pro foundly. There is an opportunity once this moves to the senate to at least have something to negotiate with, the Butch Lewis Act. And i think there are men and women again in the senate who are prepared to act on this problem largely because the plan will make its way and leach into pbgc. While not endorsing this plan, he said to me, mr. Chairman, im glad what you are doing because you are going to invite further opportunities to address this problem short of in the end having to bail out the pbgc, which will happen if we dont address the measure in front of us today. Yield myself an additional im prepared to reserve the ball ps of my time and ask if the opposition is prepared to close . Mr. Brady im prepared to close. Thank you, mr. Speaker. Look, its not enough to do something. We have to do the right thing. We know the senate isnt going to consider this bill. They told everyone. No one in the senate. The white house wont support it in its current form. But like us, we need to find a solution. When all is said and done. I know the author and leader, because i know him. I think this will Delay Congress from making the congress we need to on this issue, today after what will be a largely partisan vote we will start over at step one. Union workers and their families, who work incredibly hard every day, their promises ought to be kept and they demand more from us to get to the root cause. Their lower standards and less accountability for this unionmanaged plan. And the promises are workers in other plans. That isnt right. This does president take any steps to make the plan more stable and doesnt make them more salvept for their children who are working. Families of these Union Workers are counting on these plans and workers, they put their trust in their trustees and too many failed. And too many are still failing. Truth is we are in this crisis, not all managers failed, but many overpromised and underdelivered. You cant rely on the same people to do the same thing and let the workers let down. I have been on the factory floors with these men and women. They are good people. They care about providing for themselves and their families. They just want their promises kept. What our Union Workers need is to come up with a longterm bipartisan solution now and we need to start over to develop serious bipartisan reforms. And again, i pledge to our chairman that republicans are ready to engage if asked to find this solution for the first time, if we are asked, to find a solution. I ask unanimous consent to enter into the record letters in opposition for the bill, americans for reform and national taxpayers. I am convinced we can find the solution. There is a right way to help them and serious about making that happen. With that, i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. Im sorry, yields back. The gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. Mr. Speaker, might i inquire as to how much time is remaining . The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from massachusetts has ne minute remaining. And theyve yielded their time back, theyre finished . The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from texas yielded back. Mr. Neal i recognize myself for the balance of the time. Mr. Speaker, this has been edifying. Theres been an opportunity here for a full discussion about this impending problem that threatens the pension benefit guarantee corporation. This is an acknowledgment of the threat thats before us. There is one thing that we have in common today, nobody doubts the gravity of the situation thats in front of us. Nobody doubts just how serious this is for Financial MarketsGoing Forward if we dont address this issue, given the contagion that i referenced earlier that is likely to occur in other Pension Plans across the country, if we dont address this issue forthwith. So when i hear people say we want to do this in a spirit of bipartisanship, when . For two years we talked about this. And finally theres a plan. That the house is about to vote. In the next few minutes and im never so hopeful and optimistic that we are in fact going to be able to see the opportunity to pass this legislation and get it over to the senate. I thank the gentleman. The speaker pro tempore all time for debate on the bill has expired. For what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition . Mr. Roe i have an amendment at the desk. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will designate the amendment. The clerk amendment number 1 printed in part a of house report 116178 offered by mr. Roe of tennessee. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to House Resolution 509, the gentleman from tennessee, mr. Roe, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from tennessee. Mr. Roe thank you very much, mr. Chairman. I yield myself as much time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Roe one talking point that ive heard a lot from my friend as i cross the aisle in support of this bill is that friends across the aisle in support of this bill is that congress has already bailed out financial institutions, so we should bail out the Pension Plans. While i dont agree with that sentiment, if thats the argument, then we should trees these bailouts the same these treat these bailouts the same. Doing that, we should do the same rates given to banks under the troubled asset relief program. While i wasnt in congress at the time tarp was passed, the situation were in today, considering a Union Pension bailout, is the best evidence of why we shouldnt have interfered with the bailout of a private financial institution. Nevertheless, that decision was made and now one bailouts being used to justify another. If we believe congress shb in the business of bail should be in the business of bailing out arrangements of private employers, we should do so using the same terms as tarp. The key feature of tarp was a capital purchase repurchase program which provided capital to finance institutions by purchasing senior preferred shares. My amendment would set the Interest Rate of loans authorized under this bill to the same rate that those paid under tarps capital purchasing program. If these terms were good enough for the tarp bailout, they should be good enough for the bailout offered by this bill. The majority refuses to accept the outrageous risk associated with making loans in these plans. Instead, this bill offers low lowinterest loans to macively underfunded, failing Pension Plans and allows loan forgiveness if the plans cant be repaid. This is unbelievable. This proves the majority has no belief that the loans will ever be repaid and simply looking to gift hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayer funds to these failing Pension Plans. What about the retirement plans affected during the same time . What are we going to bail out next . What are we going to continue to have the federal government come along and throw money at badly managed investments . If we do make these loans, the government shouldnt just throw the money away shouldnt throw the money at a problem without some guard rails. With tarp, banks were given not given low interest loans over 30 years and told it really doesnt matter if you repay these or not, well for give them anyway. In fact, those loans were repaid and the government made money doing that. Now, mr. Speaker, having said that, i served as chairman of the health and employment, labor and pension subcommittee for six years. I worked on the bill with chairman cline and Ranking Member miller to help solve this problem. It is a huge problem. My father was a union member who lost his job 30 years after world war ii. So ive been down that road with my own family. Im willing to work across the aisle. I was on, as mr. Neal stated i on that committee that didnt do anything stated, i was on that committee that didnt do anything. Im willing to work on this. This bill, i disagree with him, is not going anywhere. The pbgc chairman today said we should work in a bipartisan way and im sitting here today telling you that i am willing to do that. I have been willing so for the past six years. And we did pass that bill back about four years ago, which will help with the plans. So im willing to do that. This plan is not it. I urge support of my amendment and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. For what purpose does the gentleman from virginia rise . I rise in opposition to the amendment. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. Mr. Scott thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield one minute to the distinguished speaker of the house of representatives,