Bush Talks Pension Reform; Buoys Republican Candidates
DES MOINES, Iowa — President Bush came to a small printing company to talk for the second day in a row about retirement security, pitching pension reform a day after suggesting workers should be allowed to put Social Security taxes in the stock market.
Before a crowd of 350 people, the president made a pitch for his proposals on pension reform, expected to be a top issue in this year's mid-term election courtesy of the Enron collapse, which left more than 10,000 employees and stockholders without their life savings.
Under Bush's proposals, employers would be free to sell any stock that their company contributes to their retirement plan after they have participated in their 401 (k) plan for three years.
Employees would also get more updates on how their 401 (k) plan is performing, as frequently as four times as year.
Young workers who want to exercise their options to sell their stocks should be allowed to consult with financial advisers, Bush told the 150 employees of The Printer Inc.
"One issue I am concerned about is that a company like (this) right here cannot offer sound investment advice — third-party advice to the worker — because they are afraid to get sued," Bush said.
He suggested Congress take a look at pension laws and find a way for employers to provide that guidance "without fear of some junk lawsuit."
The president also proposed revising the restrictions on employees who want to change their 401 (k) plans, making the "blackout" rules for executives and employees the same.
"If there's a blackout period in which employees can't conduct transactions, first, an executive shouldn't be able to sell if the employee can't sell. What's good for the executive ought to be good for the employees in America. If the boss sells, so should everybody else. And if everybody else can't sell, the boss doesn't get to sell."
The comments are a double whammy on retirement savings. On Thursday, Bush focused on allowing workers to invest a portion of their Social Security taxes in the stock market.
"Americans would own these assets. After all, it is their money. They would see more retirement income, and that's necessary as people live longer lives," Bush told the National Summit on Retirement Savings.
Opponents say such a change could jeopardize retirement plans of millions at times when the stock market is bad, such as the last 18 months.
And while Bush talked policy in Des Moines, it has become an increasingly frequent feature of the president's schedule to couple his policy statements with some kind of out-of-town fundraiser, allowing the government and campaign entities to split the costs of the president's travel.
Friday was no exception as Bush showed up to a luncheon fund-raiser expected to bring in $475,000 for Rep. Tom Latham and the state GOP.
The president said he'd like to see Latham re-elected because Latham, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, agrees the spending increase Bush seeks for the U.S. military "is the right priority for the country."
"It makes no sense ... to replace someone who is on the Appropriations Committee with someone who's not," Bush said. "Forget political party. If you care about the future of Iowa, ... send this good man back to Washington, D.C., come November."
Bush harked back to his campaign statement that only war, a national emergency or a recession would lead to a return to deficit spending — "Little did I realize we would get the trifecta," he said — but stressed that he would not allow Congress to spend so much that the deficits get out of hand.
"That's why the president has the veto pen," Bush said.
Iowa is a key state politically as home of the nation's first presidential contest, the Iowa caucuses; a competitive Senate race between Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin and Republican Rep. Greg Ganske; and at least two House races that could be close. Democrat Al Gore narrowly beat Bush in Iowa in the 2000 presidential election. Friday's visit was Bush's fourth since he took office in January 2001.
During his trip, Bush also deflected criticism from Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., about the war effort. Daschle said he wants to be informed of any future activity before he agrees to more spending, adding that he found Republican reaction to his concerns "hysterical."
"The Congress has a constitutional responsibility to ask questions. We are not a rubber stamp to this president or to anybody else," he said.
Bush countered that "most Americans" understand the demands of the war effort.
"I'm confident the congressional appropriators will not let our military down and will not let the American people down, because the American people are united and patient and strong and prepared to defend freedom," he said.
Fox News' James Rosen and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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