ADVISORY
FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

Subcommittee on Oversight

Houghton Announces Hearing on Employee and Employer Views on Retirement Security

Congressman Amo Houghton (R-NY), Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing to explore the views of employees and employers on retirement security issues. The hearing will take place on Tuesday, March 5, 2002, in room B-318 Rayburn House Office Building, beginning at 3:00 p.m.

In view of the limited time to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Subcommittee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.

BACKGROUND:

This Subcommittee hearing will follow a February 26^th hearing of the full Committee that will examine retirement security and defined contribution plans. As announced previously, the full committee hearing will focus on the rules and regulations governing pension plans, current protections for employees, the requirements imposed on employers, and recommendations to improve retirement security. The full Committee will hear testimony from the U.S. Departments of Treasury and Labor as well as pension experts.

The Oversight Subcommittee hearing will provide a further opportunity to hear comments on retirement issues, and will explore the views of plan participants and employers who offer defined contribution plans.

In announcing the hearing Chairman Houghton stated, "A retirement plan is an essential employee benefit. In the light of today's worries, the Federal Government must examine the way current rules are working. We want to hear from employees. We want to hear about the strengths and weaknesses of existing law and the proposed changes."

FOCUS OF THE HEARING:

The hearing will focus on retirement security and the current rules for retirement plans.

DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:

Please Note: Due to the change in House mail policy, any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should send it electronically to hearingclerks.waysandmeans@mail.house.gov, along with a fax copy to (202) 225-2610 by the close of business, Tuesday, March 19, 2002. Those filing written statements who wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing should deliver their 200 copies to the Subcommittee on Oversight in room 1136 Longworth House Office Building, in an open and searchable package 48 hours before the hearing. The U.S. Capitol police will refuse messenger deliveries to all House Office buildings.

FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:

Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record, or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

1. Due to the change in House mail policy, all statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted electronically to hearingclerks.waysandmeans@mail.house.gov, along with a fax copy to (202) 225-2610, in WordPerfect or MS Word format and MUST NOT exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.

2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.

Note: All Committee advisories and news releases are available on the World Wide Web at http://waysandmeans.house.gov.

The Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please call (202) 225-1721 or (202) 226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event (four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to special accommodation needs in general (including availability of Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the Committee as noted above.