U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09), the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight, today commented favorably on the passage in the Ways and Means Committee of H.R. 2954, the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2021. The bill expands on the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019 enacted in the 116th Congress.

“The first SECURE Act passed in the last Congress provided much-needed assistance to help all Americans save for retirement. It was warmly welcomed by employees and employers alike,” said Chairman Pascrell. “But with half of all working-age households at risk of losing their standard of living in retirement and nearly one-in-three workers with no savings, we are in a retirement crisis. More action is demanded. Our bipartisan legislation will incentivize employers and aid workers both in encouraging retirement savings. This will be decisive. Provisions including catch-up contributions, exclusion of first responder disability-related pension payments, matching funds for employees’ student loan payments will provide security to countless workers. Now let’s get this bill onto President Biden’s desk.”

Rep. Pascrell authored a provision of this legislation that would allow first responders to exclude service-connected disability pension payments from their gross income after they reach retirement age, providing much-needed financial relief for first responders and their families. .Rep. Pascrell was a cosponsor and vocal supporter of the SECURE Act when it passed in the 116^th Congress. He championed several key provisions of that bill, including a repeal of the so-called “widow’s tax increase” which would provide urgent relief to Gold Star families.

Rep. Pascrell’s remarks as prepared for today’s committee markup of H.R. 2954 are provided below.

Chairman Pascrell – Remarks as prepared

Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

This bipartisan legislation is a worthy follow-up to the first SECURE Act enacted last Congress.

The first SECURE Act provided much-needed assistance to help all Americans save for retirement. It was welcomed by employees and employers alike.

But we knew even then there was still much work to do. There is a retirement crisis in our country. Almost half of all working-age households are at risk of losing their standard of living in retirement. Nearly one-in-three workers have no retirement savings.

Employer-sponsored retirement plans are essential to helping Americans prepare for retirement. This new legislation incentivizes employers and aids our workers in saving for their retirement.

I am gratified to see several ideas I have advocated for are in this legislation. I am happy that the catch-up contribution provision was included. This measure is especially helpful to workers that have a mandatory retirement age of 65, such as airline pilots, though it can be utilized by others.

In addition, I applaud the provision that would exclude from income the disability-related pension payments of first responders. I joined my colleague, Mr. Norman of South Carolina, in introducing legislation to do this last Congress. This protection is critical relief for brave first responders who suffered a service-connected disabling injury.

And finally, I am excited that this bill includes a provision I supported first introduced by my good friend Danny Davis to permit employers to match their employees’ student loan payments with retirement contributions. Student loan debt remains a major problem in our country. It should not prevent workers from saving for their retirement – especially when employers are willing to assist.

There are many other worthwhile provisions in the SECURE Act 2.0. I look forward to moving this bipartisan bill out of the Committee today so that it can be considered by the full House. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.