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May 21, 1997
(House)


H.R. 1377 - Savings Are Vital to Everyone's Retirement Act of 1997
(Fawell (R) IL and 34 cosponsors)

Although the goal of H.R. 1377 is laudable, the Administration believes that the bill is unnecessary. It would require the Department of Labor to conduct specific pension educational activities, and require the President to convene three national pension summits to increase public awareness of the need for retirement savings and develop pension policy recommendations.

Educating the public about retirement savings is an Administration priority. For some time, the Administration has been vigorously conducting many of the same educational activities that H.R. 1377 would require. In addition, the Administration has worked with existing public and private pension advisory bodies, representing a broad range of views and interests, to increase public knowledge of retirement savings needs and to develop broad pension policies, many of which were enacted during the last Congress. The pension summits required by H.R. 1377 would unnecessarily duplicate these ongoing collaborative efforts and divert expertise and resources from them. Although the Administration does not support H.R. 1377, it looks forward to working with Congress to foster further retirement savings education and to enhance the private pension and retirement savings system.