{"database": "openregs", "table": "congressional_record", "rows": [["CREC-1994-10-08-pt1-PgE241", "1994-10-08", 103, 2, null, null, "RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD", "HOUSE", "EXTENSIONS", "FRONTMATTER", "E", "E", "[{\"name\": \"William F. Clinger Jr.\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}]", null, "140 Cong. Rec. E", "Congressional Record, Volume 140 Issue 146 (Saturday, October 8, 1994)\n\n[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 146 (Saturday, October 8, 1994)]\n[Extensions of Remarks]\n[Page E]\nFrom the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]\n\n[Congressional Record: October 8, 1994]\nFrom the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]\n\n                       RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD\n\n                                 ______\n\n                               speech of\n\n                      HON. WILLIAM F. CLINGER, JR.\n\n                            of pennsylvania\n\n                    in the house of representatives\n\n                       Thursday, October 6, 1994\n\n  Mr. CLINGER. Mr. Speaker, railroads played a vital role in the\ndawning of the industrial age in America, and no other State's history\nand heritage have been enriched more by the rail industry than\nPennsylvania's.\n  During the late 1800's and early 1900's, hundreds of miles of\nrailroad tracks stretched across Pennsylvania, allowing merchants to\nship freight and transport passengers in and out of the State. The\nbirth of mass production in America created enormous demands for\nPennsylvania coal, iron, and steel, and these industries relied heavily\non the railroad network to move their goods to manufacturers in St.\nLouis, Chicago, New York, and other areas of the country.\n  Aside from serving as the lifeline of Pennsylvania commerce, the rail\nindustry employed thousands of hard-working Pennsylvanians as\nengineers, operators, mechanics, and railyard workers. Many employees\nwere immigrants or first- and second-generation Americans whose parents\nand grandparents left England, Ireland, Germany, or Eastern Europe in\nsearch of opportunity and prosperity.\n  Working for the railroad was not always easy or pleasant.\nPennsylvania railroad employees toiled through the high times and\neconomic growth of the Industrial Revolution; endured the bitter\nclashes between labor and management; and witnessed the decline of the\nrail industry as automobiles, highways, and other technological\nadvances provided alternative modes of transportation.\n  Today, thousands of railroad employees, retirees, and their families\nstill live in Pennsylvania. Over the past year, I've heard from a great\nnumber of them in my district who are worried the railroad retirement\nsystem will be dismantled and their hard-earned benefits put at risk.\n  Indeed, proposals to eliminate the Railroad Retirement Board have\nsurfaced a number of times over the past several years. Most recently,\nVice President Gore's National Performance Review recommended\neliminating the Board and transferring its functions to other Federal\nagencies. Under the proposal, retirement benefits would be administered\nby the Social Security Administration, unemployment benefits would\nbecome the responsibility of State unemployment agencies, and sickness\nbenefits would be managed by Medicare.\n  While I wholeheartedly support the goals of Vice President Gore's\nNational Performance Review to make Government work better and cost\nless, I fail to see any justification for dismantling the Board. I do\nnot believe the proposal will increase Government efficiency or save\nthe American taxpayers money.\n  The Railroad Retirement Board was established in 1934 to protect the\nsolvency of rail industry pension programs during the Great Depression.\nThe Board oversees the railroad retirement system and its trust funds\nwhich are financed by payroll taxes levied on railroad employers and\nemployees. Over the past 60 years, millions of railworkers have paid\ninto the system with expectations of receiving retirement, sickness,\ndisability, and survivor benefits when and if they are needed.\n  Although the Clinton administration's intentions to eliminate\nGovernment waste may be genuine, its recommendation to dissolve the\nBoard is misguided. Since the cost of the railroad retirement system is\nborne by the rail industry, elimination of the Railroad Retirement\nBoard will not yield any savings for American taxpayers. Instead,\ndismantling the railroad retirement system may only make it more\nburdensome for railroad workers and their survivors to get the benefits\nthey have paid for and need.\n  Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing a resolution expressing the sense\nof the House of Representatives with respect to preserving the Railroad\nRetirement Board and the railroad retirement system. Realizing the 103d\nCongress will soon come to a close, I fully intend to reintroduce the\nmeasure at the beginning of the 104th Congress. Nevertheless, I\nencourage my colleagues to demonstrate their support for railroad\nworkers and their families by joining me as a cosponsor of this\nresolution.\n\n                          ____________________"]], "columns": ["granule_id", "date", "congress", "session", "volume", "issue", "title", "chamber", "granule_class", "sub_granule_class", "page_start", "page_end", "speakers", "bills", "citation", "full_text"], "primary_keys": ["granule_id"], "primary_key_values": ["CREC-1994-10-08-pt1-PgE241"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 56.73464620485902, "source": "Federal Register API & Regulations.gov API", "source_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/developers/api/v1", "license": "Public Domain (U.S. Government data)", "license_url": "https://www.regulations.gov/faq"}