2:15:21 to 2:15:41( Edit History Discussion )

House Clerk: record votes are questions will be taken later. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? mr. meeks: i move -- mr. towns: i move the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 1804, the federal retirement reform act of 2009. the speaker pro tempore: the

2:15:42 to 2:15:56( Edit History Discussion )

House Clerk: erk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 1804, a bill to amend title 5 united states cod to make certain modifications in the thrift savings plan, the civil service retirement system, and the federal employees reti

2:16:42 to 2:17:02( Edit History Discussion )

Edolphus Towns: savings plan for federal employees, the legislation includes several other important retirement reforms for federal employees. and members of the armed forces. this bill enjoys strong bipartisan support. in the last congress when it passed the house as h.r. 1108.

2:17:24 to 2:17:44( Edit History Discussion )

Edolphus Towns: as a result of their service connected injuries. as chairman skelton will explain, this bill increases the monthly amounts paid to surviving spouse who are denied the full amount of their annuity under the survivor benefit plan. our enhancement to the t.s.p. program also will benefit

2:18:07 to 2:18:28( Edit History Discussion )

Edolphus Towns: modernize the t.s.p. at the suggestion of the federal retirement thrift investment board, the bill provides for automatic enrollment in t.s.p. for new federal civilian employees. employees have the opportunity to choose whether to enroll or not, but for those who do not make any decision, enrollment

2:18:50 to 2:19:11( Edit History Discussion )

Edolphus Towns: after taxes are deducted. and the employee does not pay taxes on the fund upon withdrawal. this option isurrently available in many private sector retirement plans today. the bill also includes a provision to allow employees covered the federal employees retirement system to receive

2:19:33 to 2:19:53( Edit History Discussion )

Edolphus Towns: work part-time at the end of their career. i want to recognize the federal work force subcommittee chairman , mr. lynch, who has really worked real hard on this and for his work on these issues and the bill. i also would like to thank representative norton,

2:20:17 to 2:20:37( Edit History Discussion )

Edolphus Towns: finally, i would like to thank chairman skelton and the armed services committee for their contribution to this bill that will provide better financial protection to the families of our military men and women. i urge my colleagues to support this legislation and i reserve the balance of m

2:20:59 to 2:21:06( Edit History Discussion )

Edolphus Towns: when it comes to military and military personnel he's always there doing the right thing. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from missouri is recognized for three minutes. mr. skelton: first i thank the

2:21:29 to 2:21:49( Edit History Discussion )

spouses of service members who have died as a result of the service connected conditions. i want to thank chairman towns for his great assistance in making it possible to address this issue in this bill. members of the committee on the armed services which i'm privileg to chair were very appreciative of the cooperation

2:22:11 to 2:22:32( Edit History Discussion )

Ike Skelton: great leader and advocate for the military families affected the provision would increase the monthly specialist survivors indemnity allowance beginning in fiscal year 2010, with a $35 increase resulting in a monthly payment of $95.

2:22:33 to 2:22:53( Edit History Discussion )

Ike Skelton: and concludes in fiscal year 2016, with a $245 increase resulting in a m of $345. all of the improvements are substantial and welcome addition for our surviving spouses. the proposal is an incremental change that falls short of the

2:23:15 to 2:23:36( Edit History Discussion )

Ike Skelton: members the full payment of their s.b.p. benefits. i can assure our surviving spouses and my colleagues in the armed services committee that we will continue to explore every opportunity to pursue legislation that brings us closer to eliminating the bidos tax just as we are doing today -- widows tax just as we are

2:23:41 to 2:24:01( Edit History Discussion )

Darrell E. Issa: in that direction. i encourage my colleagues to vote for mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from california. mr. issa: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i'd like to thank chairman skelton and chairman towns for the hard work they put into this bill.

2:24:02 to 2:24:23( Edit History Discussion )

Darrell E. Issa: i'm here today to say this is a good bill on the front end. i'm sad to say this is a bad bill on the back end. what this bill doe which was worked out on a very bipartisan basis with all speaking here today is in fact, it does recognize that modern retirement plans should have as many options as possible.

2:24:45 to 2:25:08( Edit History Discussion )

Darrell E. Issa: willingness to work on that fix during the markup. the majority in our committee and the minority in our committee found this to be a very bipartisan issue to work on. and i appreciate the fact that this in fact is good for the troops and on paper saves money. however i have to say the back end of this bill sponsored by

2:25:30 to 2:25:52( Edit History Discussion )

Darrell E. Issa: reason when we have trillions of dollars of deficits, why would this be a reason to spend money? i think the majority knows it's not. in fact, the idea that you on paper save money by members of the government opting out of pre-tax contributions in favor

2:26:15 to 2:26:35( Edit History Discussion )

Darrell E. Issa: provision for family smoking prevention is not funded through the ordinary course of revenue but rather through this scheme that may or may not, depending how many workers choose roth i.r.a.'s, may or may not produce the money that is about to be spent. i find wrong and i find misguided. as the chairman said, there were a number of things we did for

2:26:59 to 2:27:20( Edit History Discussion )

Darrell E. Issa: that famous 20-year retirement doesot vest in five years the way it does with the majority and the minority all of us as members of congress. in fact, it takes 18 1/2 years to lock in a military retirement and 20 years to appreciate it. clearly the military does not enjoy what we in congress enjoy which is t.s.p. with a match and

2:27:36 to 2:27:57( Edit History Discussion )

Stephen F. Lynch: should be positively received and voted for. i reserve thbalance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new york. mr. towns: mr. speaker, i recognize one of the hardest working members in this body. the chairmanf the federal work force subcommittee, stephen lynch. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. lynch: thank you very much

2:27:58 to 2:28:19( Edit History Discussion )

Stephen F. Lynch: for your kind words, mr. chairman. mr. speaker, i rise in support of both chairman towns, the gentleman from brooklyn, and also mr. skelton from missouri, in their endorsement of h.r. 1804. their sponsorship as well. this is the federal retirement reform act that includes enhancements to the thrift

2:28:41 to 2:29:02( Edit History Discussion )

Stephen F. Lynch: retirement income, security for federal employees, it's time for congress to adopt and extend the auto enrollment plan to t.s.p. participants. this legislation would allow the thrift savings plan to offer a roth option. both sides have talked about the impact of that. i think it's important to point

2:29:25 to 2:29:46( Edit History Discussion )

Stephen F. Lynch: pays for itself. mr. speaker, in my role as chairman of the federal work force postal service and district of columbia subcommittee, i believe that the federal government must ensur that it benefits -- that it benefits to retain and recruit the best and the brightest. towards that end i authored h.r. 1263, legislation that would

2:30:08 to 2:30:28( Edit History Discussion )

Stephen F. Lynch: this bill amends the federal re250eur789 system for time for credit for unused sick leave. they have called for crediting unused sick leave in the same way the civil service system treats unused sick leave. this fixes a csrs annuity calculation problem for those

2:30:50 to 2:31:10( Edit History Discussion )

Stephen F. Lynch: i conclude my remarks by stating i give my full support to the civil service provisions on balf of the national active and retired federal services association. i would also like to make it clear that this new obligation, this is important, this new obligation does not result in an unfunded obligation for the civil service retirement and disability fund as current law

2:31:16 to 2:31:36( Edit History Discussion )

Darrell E. Issa: clarification to that effect as part of the record. thank you, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from california. mr. issa: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro mpore: the gentleman is recognize plsmed sy issa: i have to say, it's not the front end of this bill that anyone objects to.

2:31:37 to 2:31:58( Edit History Discussion )

Darrell E. Issa: as chairman lynch said and said rightfully, it's calculated that this piece of legislation will save, net, approximately $2.2 billion, for better or worse, on the backs of our retirees. it's a short-term savings, mr. speaker. it is not in fact a long-term savings. any time you do connect money now but don't collect it later,

2:32:21 to 2:32:40( Edit History Discussion )

Darrell E. Issa: the federal workforce, whether uniformed, military, or civilian. that's the only problem. whathis bill does it does well. what this bill eventually does is fund a pet project of the former chairman, mr. waxman, for tobacco programs, something that's been funded very well, funded on the backs of plenty of other programs.

2:33:39 to 2:34:00( Edit History Discussion )

Solomon P. Ortiz: federal payments thises a complex yet pivotal matter to the survival of servicemens. essentially, if servicemens purchase a plan for their loved ones, the survivors receive a death. 23 that servicemens dies of a service-connected cause, the survivor is entitled to

2:34:22 to 2:34:44( Edit History Discussion )

Solomon P. Ortiz: for too long, the offset between the two programs has done precisely the opposite of what they're intended to do, protect survive yog loved ones. the defend our co best. congress addressed the offset in the 2008 authorization act

2:35:06 to 2:35:26( Edit History Discussion )

Solomon P. Ortiz: offset and reflects our bipartisan desire to provide the surviving -- survivors of our military servicemens. i support this bill and i urge my colleagues to support this bill. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from california. mr. issa: i reserve the