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June 5, 1985 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS 14529 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS DAYTON WELCOMES HOME designate the U.S. Post Office Build­ 22 separate items, dealing with McGUIRE SISTERS ing in Flushing, NY, as the "Benjamin women's retirement security, depend­ S. Rosenthal Building." I am pleased ent care, insurance, employment, a.nd HON. TONY P. HALL to be an original cosponsor of this bill tax reform. OF OHIO which honors a man who was a good The Congressional Caucus for IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES friend and an excellent role model for Women's Issues has prepared a sub­ all of us. stantial briefing paper on retirement Tuesday, June 4, 1985 Ben Rosenthal served in this body security, the first title of the EEA. I •Mr. HALL of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, for over 20 years. He was loved by his bring this information to the attention with great pride, Dayton, OH, wel­ constituents, respected by his col­ of my colleagues today and urge that comes back three daughters who have leagues and was an inspired public you join me in support of the Econom­ achieved international distinction for leader who truly cared about the ic Act of 1985. their singing. This Friday, June 7, the people he served. As chairman of the I. RETIREMENT SECURITY McGuire Sisters are coming home, and Subcommittee on Commerce, Con­ A. Private Pension Reform, <Kennelly). will be greeted with a ceremony at sumer and Monetary Affairs of the B. Social Security. Court House Square. Government Operations Committee, 1. Earnings Sharing, <H.R. 158, Oakar). Phyllis, Dorothy, and Christine Ben was an ardent advocate for the 2. Disabled Widow<ers), <H.R. 159, Oakar>. McGuire, who are originally from Mia­ rights of consumers. He led the fight 3. Transition Benefit, <H.R. 160, Oakar>. misburg, OH, got their start in the in the Congress for the establishment 4. Disability Definition, <H.R. 556, Ober­ Dayton area singing for church so­ of an agency for consumer advocacy star>. cials, Sunday school picnics, and other within the Federal Government. Al­ C. Military Spouse Pension Reform, <H.R. gatherings. They later performed at 2365, Schroeder>. though this was one of his few unsuc­ Full security for retirement is often lilt­ Ohio clubs, and they toured army cessful fights, Ben's contributions to ened to a three-legged stool: private pen­ camps and veterans hospitals for the the area of consumer protection will sions, Social Security, and private savings USO. benefit people across the Nation for function together to create a stable support It was through regular appearances many years to come. for the elderly. The three-legged stool for on local television that they polished Ben was one man who fought for women, however, tends to be unsteady. the skills to the perfection demanded fairness and he carried that commit­ Men and women are changing jobs more of entertainment stars that they have ment into all sectors of the public rapidly now than ever. The greater mobility of women, however, has meant low benefits since become. policy arena. He will be remembered for the few women who receive private pen­ On Saturday, June 8, the McGuires as an advocate of civil rights and a sions. The breadwinner/homemaker model will be singing for Johnny Bench's protector of civil liberties. upon which Social Security is premised Bogie Busters Gala at the Dayton Ben carried his commitment to fair­ leads to low benefits for women who have Convention Center. They will be per­ ness to his work on the Foreign Af­ been both homemaker and worker outside forming with Bob Hope, Andy Wil­ fairs Committee. As an ardent sup­ the home. Current limitations on Individual liams, Johnny Yune, the Dayton Phil­ porter of the State of Israel, Ben was Retirement Accounts for married couples harmonic Orchestra under the direc­ opposed to the United States selling with a nonworking spouse discourages tion of Charles Wendelken-Wilson, homemakers from developing adequate pri­ arms to nations sworn to destroy our vate savings. <See Spousal IRA provision de­ and many others. ally. Ben also supported cutting off scribed in the Tax Reform briefing paper.> This appearance marks the begin­ arms sales to Turkey after that nation The result of these inequities has been ning of a major concert and club tour invaded Cyprus. the increasing poverty of older women: for the McGuires, who only recently Mr. Speaker, I knew Ben Rosenthal As of 1983, older women had a median announced their return to the stage for many years. He was a good friend. income of $5,599, as compared to the after being away for 16 years. I am pleased my colleagues are honor­ median income of $9,766 for older men. On Sunday evening, June 9, the ing him and would like to thank my Forty-four percent of these women had in­ McGuires will receive their coveted distinguished colleague from Queens, comes of less than $5,000 in 1983. Less than Bogie Buster red jacket from Bob one in five men had an income of less than GARY ACKERMAN, for introducing this $5,000. Hope during the annual red jacket legislation. One who did so much for More than 2.6 million older women had in­ dinner, which will be televised live so many people deserves to be remem­ comes below the poverty level in 1983. from the Dayton Convention Center bered in many ways. By changing the by Dayton's WKEF-TV Channel 22. A. PRIVATE PENSION REFORM name of the post office in Flushing, In 1983, 11.3% of women over age 65 were I join the family and friends of the we will be remembering Ben, in a receiving a private pension averaging $2,634 McGuires in a hearty welcome for small, but very important manner.e a year. ·By comparison, 29.6% of men were their return to Dayton, and best receiving a private pension or annuity aver­ wishes for a successful tour in their aging $4,491 a year. return to the stage.e ECONOMIC EQUITY ACT­ The Retirement Equity Act of 1984 <P.L. RETIREMENT SECURITY 98-397 > reformed the Employee Retirement Income Security Act <ERISA> to provide BENJAMIN S. ROSENTHAL POST HON. PATRICIA SCHROEDER better protection of survivor benefits and to OFFICE BUILDING OF COLORADO improve coverage for working women. Addi­ tional ERISA reforms are necessary to en­ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES hance private pension benefits for all work­ HON.THOMASJ.MANTON Wednesday, June 5, 1985 ers. OF NEW YORK Traditionally, pension plans have reward­ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES e Mrs. SCHROEDER. Mr. Speaker, on Monday, May 13, 1985, the Eco­ ed long and continuous service-a policy Tuesday, June 4, 1985 which deprives many working women of pri­ nomic Equity Act of 1985 <H.R. 2472) vate pensions. Due to the high mobility of e Mr. MANTON. Mr. Speaker, on was introduced and I am pleased to be today's work force, many women and men June 3, 1985 the House of Representa­ a cosponsor of this important piece of are unable to accrue the required number of tives passed H.R. 633, which would legislation. The omnibus bill contains years of service to receive full retirement e This "bullet" symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by the Member on the floor. 14530 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS June 5, 1985 benefits, or they accrue small benefits with years prior to the disability. Once again, the C. MILITARY SPOUSE PENSION REFORM more than one employer. Statistics show homemaker is often ineligible for these ben­ Many military spouses find themselves that in 1983 the median number of years in efits. without retirement benefits after a divorce. one job was 3.7 years for women and 5.1 1. Earnings sharing Although current law allows courts to con­ years for men. sider military retirement pay in divorce set­ In order to respond to new work patterns, Currently, earnings records are main­ tained for individual workers. In a married tlements, many courts fail to recognize the a new concept of pension policy is emerging: contribution and sacrifices of the spouse to workers should receive pension credit for all couple, a nonworking partner is entitled to a spousal benefit equal to 50% of the worker's a military career. Due to frequent moves, a of their working years. military spouse is unable to establish a pen­ Focusing on the Vesting, Integration, and benefit. A retired worker receives the higher of her benefit options-either her spousal sion based on years worked with a single Portability requirements of private pension employer. plans, H.R. , the V.l.P. bill <Rep. Bar­ benefit or her own work record benefit. Women combine work with family respon­ In 1980 and 1982 Congress passed laws for bara Kennelly), reforms current pension CIA and Foreign Service spouses allowing plan requirements. sibilities in a variety of ways. They often work part-time, or interrupt their working them to claim a portion of retirement bene­ Vesting: Currently, most pension plans re­ fits based on years contributed to the quire a person to work for ten years to be lives to raise children. Because of these dif­ ferent work patterns, a woman's own work career, subject to court review. This policy fully vested in his or her benefits. This bill should be extended to military spouses. would reduce from ten to five the number of record may be even lower than the spousal H.R. 2365, the Uniformed Services Former years a person must work to be vested. benefit, and she receives no credit for her Spouse Retirement Equity Act <Rep.

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