A resolution designating August 29, 2010, as "Railroad Retirement Day".

Whereas the Railroad Retirement Act of 1935 (49 Stat. 967, chapter 812) was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt 75 years ago on August 29, 1935, establishing the beginnings of a new social insurance system for the rail industry of the United States that today protects families against loss of income due to the retirement, disability, or death of a wage earner and assists in meeting the medical expenses of the elderly and long-term disabled;

Whereas the railroad retirement program was enacted before the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) and continues to be one of the most successful social insurance programs in the history of the Nation;

Whereas, during the past 75 years, railroad retirement benefits of over $281,000,000,000 have been paid by the Railroad Retirement Board to more than 5,000,000 retired workers and their spouses and survivors;

Whereas today more than 200,000 individuals work in railroad employment and pay railroad retirement taxes;

Whereas the railroad retirement system today provides comprehensive monthly benefits to over 500,000 individuals in the United States; and

Whereas the rail industry continues to be an integral part of the transportation system of the United States and is vital to the economy of the Nation: Now, therefore, be it