You can view the archive webcast on the Education and Labor Committee website.

As you know President Bush asked Congress to approve a “blank check” plan to rescue the economy. We rejected his plan but not the need to act quickly to help people. So we approved a Rescue Plan that has strong taxpayer protections and tough accountability.

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Retirement accounts have lost $2 trillion

By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans' retirement plans have lost as much as $2 trillion in the past 15 months, Congress' top budget analyst estimated Tuesday.

The upheaval that has engulfed the financial industry and sent the stock market plummeting is devastating workers' savings, forcing people to hold off on major purchases and consider delaying their retirement, said Peter Orszag, the head of the Congressional Budget Office.

As Congress investigates the causes and effects of the financial meltdown, the House Education and Labor Committee was hearing from retirement savings and budget analysts on how the housing, credit and other financial troubles have battered pensions and other retirement funds, which are among the most common forms of savings in the United States.

"Unlike Wall Street executives, America's families don't have a golden parachute to fall back on," said Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., the panel chairman. "It's clear that their retirement security may be one of the greatest casualties of this financial crisis."

More than half the people surveyed in an Associated Press-GfK poll taken Sept. 27-30 said they worry they will have to work longer because the value of their retirement savings has declined.

Orszag indicated the fear is well-founded. Public and private pension funds and employees' private retirement savings accounts — like 401(k)'s — have lost some 20 percent overall since mid-2007, he estimated. Private retirement plans may have suffered slightly more because those holdings are more heavily skewed toward stocks, Orszag added.

"Some people will delay their retirement. In particular, those on the verge of retirement may decide they can no longer afford to retire and will continue working," Orszag said.

A new AARP study found that because of the economic downturn, one in five workers 45 and older has stopped putting money into a 401(k), IRA or other retirement savings account during the past year, and nearly one in four has increased the number of hours he works.

When: Saturday, October 18 at 11:00 A.M.
Where: Mt. Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church,
55 Eckley Lane, Walnut Creek 94596

Co-Sponsors: Northern California Peace Alliance,
Social Action Committee of Mt. Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church, Lamorinda Peace and Justice Group and Rossmoor Grandparents for Peace

Congressman Ellison will address the current situations of war and peace around the world and social and economic injustice in our country, including the economy, credit card interest rates and health care. Congressman Ellison, a co-sponsor of the Department of Peace Bill (HR 808), is a lively speaker who has visited the Peace Institute in Norway in his search to understand peace in our world. The Congressman will answer your questions as part of the program.

Congressman Keith Ellison represents the Fifth Congressional District of Minnesota in the United States House of Representatives since taking office on January 4, 2007. The Fifth Congressional District is the most vibrant and ethnically diverse Congressional district in Minnesota with over eighty languages spoken throughout the district that includes the City of Minneapolis and several surrounding suburbs.

Ellison's election to the Congress made both Minnesota and U.S. history. Keith is the first African American elected to the Congress from Minnesota, as well as the first Muslim American to be elected to the U.S. Congress.
Suggested donation: $10-$15 (no one turned away for lack of funds); wheelchair accessible.

For more information: Mt. Diablo Peace & Justice Center www.mtdpc.org

If this bill were just about helping Wall Street, given its behavior, I wouldn’t walk across the street to save it. But this is about our country. It is about our communities, families and access to credit, creating jobs and economic growth. It will not solve our economic problems overnight, that is for sure. And I don’t know anyone who is glad that we even have to consider this plan. But we must approve it in order to move forward.

In the face of grave and growing instability in our credit and financial markets, the President made an urgent appeal to Congress. He presented a three-page plan to grant never-before-seen powers to the Treasury Secretary to spend a staggering $700 billion in taxpayer money to buy up the bad debt held by banks and investment firms – with no accountability and no protection for taxpayers.

Along with many lawmakers from both parties, I rejected the President’s request for a ‘blank check.’ But I did not dismiss the need to take action to help workers and families already hurt by long-standing economic problems who will suffer further if the financial crisis becomes the full scale economic meltdown so many experts predict.

Americans will not be able to borrow to make payroll at small businesses, invest in new equipment, take out college loans, find mortgages, start new businesses, or buy new cars.

Left unchecked, this crisis will further erode people’s retirement savings accounts, pension funds, and other savings, raise unemployment, and undermine our ability to create new jobs. As we are seeing in California, school districts, counties, and cities are losing millions of dollars because of the collapse of firms in which they held investments.

To protect the taxpayer and help the economy, I successfully fought to add several key provisions to the bill, making it now a far cry from the President’s original three-page plan. We added provisions to:

-- provide money in stages, not all at once, and with congressional approval, to buy up bad debt from financial firms;

-- limit the compensation of CEOs whose firms the government rescues. No more golden parachutes for Wall Street tycoons who get government assistance;

-- provide immediate, ongoing and tough oversight by independent boards, including the Inspector General and General Accounting Office;

-- give taxpayers stock equity of the companies that they rescue, giving them a share of the profits as those companies recover and reducing the overall cost of the plan;

-- help families in foreclosure;

-- provide a mechanism to require companies to pay for any losses the taxpayer might face from this plan, and;

-- increase federal bank deposit insurance from $100,000 to $250,000.

These are very important changes.

The American economy is in its weakest condition in years, with rising unemployment, stagnant and declining wages, record high energy costs, and soaring food prices. Mortgage foreclosures are rising while home values decline further. Fundamental investments in our economy remain unmet – for health care, infrastructure, new energy sources, and for education. Add to this now the very real credit and financial crisis.

While the housing crisis and collapse of the financial markets has its roots in the excesses of Wall Street and Republican anti-regulation policies in Washington, the impact of widespread bankruptcies and frozen credit will be felt by each of us.

Americans have every right to be furious with Wall Street CEOs and eight years of the Bush Administration and 12 years of the Republican-led Congress that did nothing but cut taxes for the rich, de-regulate the banks, and turn their backs on critical oversight.

Now, the party for Wall Street that has been a nightmare for Main Street is over.

I pushed for investments in the emergency plan that would have created good paying jobs in California and across America, infusing money for mass transit, highways, bridges, water recycling, and broadband technology. At a time of rising unemployment, it is astounding and unfortunate that President Bush and Senate Republicans rejected this effort.

I understand the concerns that have been raised about this emergency legislation. No one wants to see a commitment of this much money going to buy up bad debt. But we have improved the plan by building in safeguards for the taxpayer and trying to reduce the plan’s overall cost. And, again, I strongly believe that failing to approve it will be far worse for everyone.

Congresswoman Lee speaks on the floor of the US House of Representatives regarding the economic bailout package. The bill passed on a vote of 263-171.

Author: RepLee
Keywords: Congresswoman Lee bailout economic crisis House of Representatives
Added: October 3, 2008

Congresswoman Solis speaks on the House floor to address high foreclosure rates and unemployment rates in her district that need a comprehensive economic recovery plan. Visit www.house.gov/solis for more information.

Author: RepHildaSolis
Keywords: rephildasolis solis hildasolis economicrecovery bailout economicassistance foreclosurerate unemployment
Added: October 3, 2008

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“I voted for the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act today to head off what could be one of the worst financial crises to face our country. I am disappointed that it did not pass today but I am confident Congress will be taking up this issue again just as quickly as is possible.

“We had an agreement on the bill between the House and Senate and the White House. More than half of the Democratic Caucus was committed to voting for this bill. It was our understanding that half of the House Republicans would support it as well. Democrats lived up to our end of the bargain -- in fact two thirds of our members voted for the bill. House Republicans did not deliver enough votes today – in fact only one third of House Republicans supported the President’s bill.

“The fact remains, however, that the serious problems plaguing our financial sector and our economy have not gone away. I remain fully committed to approving a bi-partisan solution to stabilizing the credit markets. I believe we are still on track to achieve such a bi-partisan solution.

“I supported this bill today because I believe the experts, such as the Treasury Secretary, the Fed Chairman, and many other economists, who have made it clear that we face one of the worst financial crises our country has ever seen; a crisis that will touch every American.

“This bill was an attempt to stabilize the credit markets because that is so important to fuel our economy. I did not support the bill because I wanted to help Wall Street. If this bill were just about Wall Street, given their behavior over the years, I wouldn’t walk across the street to save them. But this is really about our communities and families and people’s access to credit and jobs. And that is why I am fully committed to a solution.

“The ‘blank check’ plan the President presented to Congress over 10 days ago was unacceptable and we rejected it. We worked hard to craft a bi-partisan alternative that provided relief to the credit markets but also protected the taxpayer. I am disappointed that this alternative did not pass but I believe that a strong bill that protects the taxpayer and relieves the credit markets can and must pass soon.

“A collapse of our financial system would cripple the credit markets and prevent the economy from growing, hurting Americans’ ability to borrow at reasonable rates to make payroll at small businesses, invest in new equipment, borrow for college, take out a mortgage, start new businesses, or buy new cars. It would further erode savings in people’s pension accounts, retirement accounts, college accounts and other savings. It would hurt our ability to create new jobs. As we are seeing already in California, schools districts, counties, and cities are losing millions of dollars because of the collapse of Wall Street firms in which they invested.

“Americans are furious with the CEOs of Wall Street, and they have every right to be. Just as they should be furious with eight years of the Bush Administration and 12 years of the Republican-led Congress that did nothing but cut taxes for the rich, help Wall Street with deregulation, and provided no oversight from Washington.

“Clearly we must act to help the economy as well the markets, in order to help create jobs and reduce the decline in home values. That’s why the House passed a bill last week to spend $60 billion quickly on a recovery plan for infrastructure and unemployment insurance. At a time of rising unemployment, it is unfortunate that President Bush opposes us and refuses to support our economic plan.

“We must continue to fight to get Americans working again. The financial bill we voted on today is necessary and we will keep working on it, but much more needs to be done quickly to help create jobs and grow the economy.”

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Congresswoman Barbara Lee speaks on the floor of the US House of Representatives in opposition to the financial bailout package, which later failed to pass on a vote of 205-228.

Author: RepLee
Keywords: Financial Bailout Congresswoman Barbara Lee Congress
Added: September 29, 2008

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-Martinez), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, delivered the following statement today as the House considered an economic stimulus package to bolster the nation’s economy.

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Madam Speaker, because our country urgently needs to create new jobs, provide vital relief for struggling families, and get our economy moving forward again, I rise in strong support of this economic stimulus bill, H.R. 7110.

Our economy needs two things, and we need them right now.

First, we must take steps to help restore confidence in the credit markets and the financial sector as a whole, because every American is affected by this worsening financial crisis and every American will be hurt if it gets worse.

Remember, we’re not just talking about propping up the stock market, even though the decline in the stock market clearly hurts tens of millions of Americans with pension funds, and retirement accounts. What we are attempting to do is revive the credit markets so that the economy can grow again, so that Americans can borrow at reasonable rates to make payroll at small businesses, invest in new equipment, borrow for college, take out a mortgage, start a new business, or buy a new car.

Credit is what fuels our economy and creates jobs and good incomes. The crisis that is allegedly just a Wall Street problem is a problem on every street in every small town and big city in our country. Whether people like to admit it or not, Wall Street and Main Street are joined at the hip. And we all share an interest in stepping up to the plate to help restore confidence in the credit markets in a manner that offers the greatest possible protections to the taxpayer and consumers and homeowners. That is what I am trying to help accomplish and I urge my colleagues to join together to do the same.

So, that is one thing we must do to help the economy now.

Secondly, to help the ailing economy we also must invest directly in new infrastructure – roads, bridges, mass transit, clean water, new schools – to get Americans working again.

More than 600,000 American workers have lost their jobs so far this year. The number of unemployed Americans is now at its highest level since 1992. Our nation has now faced 8 straight months of consecutive job losses. 1.6 million workers are looking for jobs. And last week, jobless claims rose to a seven-year high.

The economic stimulus package before us today will help to get our economy back on the road to recovery. It will yield immediate results for all Americans.

Our bill will help to get more Americans back to work by investing in infrastructure projects that can quickly generate good-paying jobs.

Our bill provides a long-overdue investment of $3 billion to repair crumbling schools across this country -- making classrooms safer, healthier, more modern and energy efficient places for children to learn -- while injecting demand into the construction industry.

Our bill provides much-needed support for millions of Americans who are out of work by extending unemployment benefits to help them cover their housing payments, grocery bill, and energy costs.

And our bill invests $500 million in job training programs to help these workers find and prepare for good jobs in the fast changing economy.

Look, we all know that the disastrous wild-west, go-go economic policies of the eight years of the Bush Administration have made our economy less stable, less fair for working Americans, and less resilient in the face of crisis. It has been a disaster for our country.

We have an obligation to take the economy in a new direction and we have an opportunity to start to do that with this stimulus bill.

Our stimulus package represents the right kind of economic policy – literally building a stronger country, investing in our children, investing in workers, and coming to the aid of struggling families.

This is an important step toward strengthening the nation’s middle class and strengthening the overall economy and I urge all my colleagues to support it.

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Congresswoman Barbara Lee speaks on the floor of the US House of Representatives in support of non-proliferation efforts, and in opposition to the US-India Nuclear Deal.

Author: RepLee
Keywords: US-India Nuclear Deal Non-Proliferatioin
Added: September 26, 2008

Congresswoman Lee, who recently co-led a Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Co-delegation trip to Haiti, testifies before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere regarding the devastating impact of recent hurricanes and steps that can be taken to assist Haiti and surrounding countries in the Caribbean region.

Author: RepLee
Keywords: Haiti Caribbean Congresswoman Barbara Lee Hurricane
Added: September 26, 2008

Congresswoman Barbara Lee speaks in support of H.Res. 1361, a resolution resolving that the United States should lead a high-level diplomatic effort to ensure that the Durban Review Conference serves as a forum to combat all forms of racism.

Author: RepLee
Keywords: Congresswoman Barbara Lee Durban Review Conference Racism
Added: September 23, 2008

Congresswoman Barbara Lee speaks on the floor of the US House of Representatives in support of H.Res. 1369, a resolution introduced by Congresswoman Lee which was passed unanimously by the House today. This resolution recognizes individuals and nongovernmental organizations working to bring a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Author: RepLee
Keywords: Congresswoman Barbara Lee Middle East Conflict Peace Israel Palestine
Added: September 23, 2008

Congresswoman Solis asks for a temporary lift on the travel and remittance ban to Cuba. Visit www.house.gov/solis for more information.

Author: RepHildaSolis
Keywords: rephildasolis solis hildasolis cuba cubantravelban hurricane cubarestrictions
Added: September 23, 2008

Congressman Mike Honda speaks on the Floor in favor of implementing the benefits previously promised to Filipino Veterans. Also see an Op-Ed at http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/13506.html

Author: RepMikeHonda
Keywords: filipino veterans
Added: September 18, 2008

The Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet held a hearing, "The Status of the DTV Transition: 154 Days and Counting." Visit www.house.gov/solis for more information.

Author: RepHildaSolis
Keywords: rephildasolis dtv dtvtransition digitaltv borderregion solis hildasolis
Added: September 16, 2008

I strongly support this comprehensive, a forward-looking bill that will provide relief at the pump, create good jobs in America, and finally put our nation on a path toward a clean and more independent energy future.

Surely that is something all Americans support.

Americans understand the problem: Our nation is addicted to oil, we’re paying record prices to heat and cool their homes and drive their cars and trucks, and global warming is a real, serious and growing problem. Meanwhile, oil companies are making more money than ever before.

Democrats made energy a top priority when we took back the House and Senate last year -- we raised auto fuel economy standards for the first time in a generation and overcoming the objections of the auto and oil industries and the Republicans in Congress and the White House.

We voted for one bill after another to improve American energy policy – to expand wind, solar and other renewable energy sources, to increase efficiency and conservation, to curb speculation in oil markets, to release oil from the strategic reserve, and to recoup tens of billions of dollars that oil companies unfairly have taken from the taxpayer.

Every attempt to shape our energy future was opposed by the majority of Republicans in Congress and by President Bush -- and gas rose to $4 a gallon.

Congress must work together to take a bold, innovative step forward to help consumers, create good American jobs, and put America on a path toward clean energy and energy independence.

The narrow special interests cannot once again cause us to fail to reach new heights. We cannot succumb to the old entrenched interests that have squandered our resources, robbed the taxpayers, and harmed the consumer and the environment.

Our bill is the most comprehensive energy bill to come around in decades. We accomplish what American families want. It is responsible, it is affordable, and it is innovative.

This bill was written for American families, not the oil companies. Our bill was written for Americans who want to know where their next job is going to come from.

At a time when the Bush Administration has lost over 600,000 jobs this year alone, Americans want to know what is the next big thing. The answer is -- energy. By extending and expanding tax incentives for renewable energy, America will retain and create hundreds of thousands of jobs.

In fact, investments in renewable energy create three to five times as many jobs as investments in fossil-fuel energy. Those jobs will dry up without this bill.

We are going to use American energy and American ingenuity for America’s future. Now is the time for our comprehensive energy plan.

Congresswoman Barbara Lee speaks on the floor of the US House of Representatives regarding the devastation the recent hurricanes, Fay, Gustav, Hanna, and Ike, left in Haiti and throughout the Caribbean, more specifically calling on Congress to assist Haiti and the surrounding region.

Author: RepLee
Keywords: Congresswoman Barbara Lee
Added: September 16, 2008

Congresswoman Barbara Lee speaks on the floor of the US House of Representatives in memory of Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, who passed away on August 20, 2008.

Author: RepLee
Keywords: Congresswoman Barbara Lee Stephanie Tubbs Jones US House of Representatives
Added: September 16, 2008