Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I am delighted that this bipartisan legislation to assist our veterans is before the House today. It also is certainly of great assistance to our active duty military and Reservists and indeed their families. The bill we are considering today is the product of a joint hearing held last month by the Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee led by myself and the Ranking Member English and the Income Security Subcommittee led by Chairman McDermott and Ranking Member Weller. We heard from a number of veterans advocates, military families groups, the Social Security Administration, Members of Congress and others who discussed their proposals to either enhance tax provisions or reduce burdens on those who serve or volunteer for America.

The bill we are considering today, which passed out of the full committee last week, is a product of those deliberations and will go far to assist those serving this country, again, emphasizing support for their families. This country is fortunate that so many soldiers and sailors have been willing to sacrifice for our defense. We must remember, once again, that this is a shared sacrifice. The families of someone serving this country can suffer financially, as well as emotionally, during extended tours. Congress has a responsibility to ensure that the Tax Code and other income security provisions do not create problems but, rather, solve them for military families. That is exactly what this bill will allow us to do.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas, a member of the Ways and Means Committee, Mr. Doggett.

Madam Speaker, I would like to yield 1\1/ 2\ minutes to the gentleman from North Dakota and member of the Ways and Means Committee, Mr. Pomeroy.

Madam Speaker, at this time I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson), a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

(Mr. LARSON of Connecticut asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer), a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), also a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

(Mr. PASCRELL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Berkley), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Madam Speaker, I yield Mr. Altmire from Pennsylvania, a good friend of the veteran, 1 minute.

Madam Speaker, I recognize a great friend of the veteran, the gentlewoman from Kansas (Mrs. Boyda) for 1 minute.

I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Ms. Giffords), a friend of the veteran.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Davis), a good friend of the American veteran as well, for 1 minute.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Farr), a friend of the American veteran as well.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

I believe we have concluded the speakers who have asked for time on our side.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3997, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

First of all, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. English) for the usual courtesy that he extends to all Members of this body, and particularly those of us who are on the Ways and Means Committee. I also wish to acknowledge Chairman Rangel and Mr. McCrery who worked to accommodate suggestions from several Members of the House. We thank those Members, both Republicans and Democrats, for generating many of the good ideas contained in this bipartisan bill.

Let me describe some of the provisions in this bill. The bill makes permanent the current provision waiving the 10 percent withdrawal penalty for those called up to active duty who need to tap into retirement accounts.

The bill allows families to roll over amounts received as death gratuity benefits into Roth IRAs or education savings accounts.

The bill makes a number of changes related to supplemental security income or SSI eligibility and military service.

And the bill makes permanent the special rule treating combat pay as earned income for the purposes of the earned income tax credit, or

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge Mr. Levin's role, in not only the construction of this legislation, but the role that he's played, I think, in trade issues.

I rise in support of the Trade and Global Assistance Act of 2007. Otherwise known as TAA, this program has been successful in transitioning workers who have been displaced by foreign trade into new jobs. Many workers and businesses in my home district in Massachusetts have already been beneficiaries of assistance provided by TAA.

The bill we're considering today will provide extended and expanded benefits and do so for more workers. It will also expand the critical health care coverage that these displaced workers and their families need.

The bill doubles the current funding amount for retraining of workers for new jobs. But what might be the most exciting new feature in this proposal is the manufacturing and redevelopment zones which are very similar to the popular enterprise and empowerment zones that many American cities have had great success with. These new manufacturing zones will provide businesses with a host of incentives to redevelop in areas that have suffered substantial reductions in manufacturing employment.

TAA extension and expansion should go hand in hand with more free trade agreements. As one who is a supporter of the Peru Free Trade Agreement, which the committee of Ways and Means has just approved, TAA is the safety net we need to enact in a case-

by-case opportunity to give benefits to workers and industries who have been displaced or disrupted because of these agreements. Of course, it is our hope and intent that all free trade agreements lift all economies and industries of both participating countries. But if businesses are impacted and workers are impacted, we must have TAA to retrain that workforce for the jobs of the future.

I urge full adoption of this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce The Defined Contribution Plan Fee Transparency Act of 2007. That may be a long title, but the details are actually very simple.

Earlier this summer, AARP conducted a survey of 401(k) participants to find out what they knew about the fees paid by their plans. Plan fees can make a huge difference in your account balance. As the Department of Labor has pointed out in a helpful guide on the issue, ``Fees and expenses paid by your plan may substantially reduce the growth in your account.'' Literally, it pays to know what these expenses are. What the AARP found in their survey is instructive: 83 percent of participants acknowledged they do not know how much they pay in fees or expenses. Already, the House Education and Labor Committee has held several hearings to higlight this issue, and I commend the Committee Chairman, Mr. Miller, for his leadership.

The growth in defined contribution plans offers great opportunities for workers, with alternatives and options they did not have before. Many workers, however, are simply overwhelmed with the information distributed and, because of that, may not be able to utilize these opportunities. Certainly, more disclosure is preferred. But, as AARP found out, the need to better understand this information means it must be in an easily digestible format and in plain English.

My legislation provides for disclosure both to the worker and to the employer. Participants, or workers, would get both an enrollment notice up-front and an annual notice updating them on their account. At enrollment, the bill requires that for each of the plan's investment alternatives, the employer would have to disclose the alternative's objective and investment manager, its risk and return characteristics and its historic rates of return. In addition, the employer must indicate whether the alternative is passively managed, as with an index fund, or actively managed and whether or not the alternative is a single-alternative investment solution, such as a lifecycle or target retirement date fund.

Regarding fees, the bill requires employers to disclose the asset- based fees for each investment alternative, whether such fees pay for services beyond investment management, such as plan administration, and whether there are additional charges for buying or selling the particular alternative, such as redemption fees. In addition, participants must be provided with information about any separate fees they will be charged for plan administration as well as a notice that certain plan services they may decide to use could have separate charges associated with them, such as investment advice programs, brokerage windows, or plan loans. Accompanying these disclosures would be a statement that participants should not select investments based solely on fees but based on careful consideration of a range of factors including the alternatives' risk level, returns and investment objectives.

In addition to this enrollment notice, each year, participants would receive information about the investments they had selected and the fees applicable to their accounts. This annual notice would describe which investment alternatives the individual participant was invested in, what percentage of the participant's total account each alternative represented, the risk and return characteristics of each such alternative, whether such alternatives were passively or actively managed and the historical returns for each such alternative. The statement would also summarize for participants what asset classes their account is invested in, with percentage breakdowns. On fees, the annual notice must describe asset-based and any sales charges for the alternatives the participant has selected, any separate charges for plan administration and any deductions for participant-initiated services. In addition, to assist employees who may want to make investment changes, the notice must tell participants

how to access investment characteristic and fee information for alternatives in which they are not invested.

My bill also requires service providers to disclose to employers various fee and expense information in advance of a contract. This will ensure that employers have the information they need to bargain effectively with plan service providers and to keep costs at reasonable levels for participants.

Providers must give the employer an estimate of total fees and a detailed and itemized list of all the services to be provided under the contract. Providers that offer multiple bundled services must separate the fees charged under the contract into fees for investment management, fees for administration and recordkeeping and fees paid to intermediaries or other third-parties. Providers must also disclose whether they expect to receive payments from third-parties in connection with providing services to the plan, also referred to as revenue-sharing, and if so, must name those parties and the amount expected to be received from each. This revenue-sharing information is critical so that employers understand how their providers are being paid and whether any such financial relationships give rise to potential conflicts of interest. Plan service providers must also provide this detailed disclosure statement to employers every year the contract is in place and following any material modification of the contract. In addition, employers must make such statements available to plan participants via web posting and upon written request so that those employees who want to delve into the details of the plan's financing can do so.

The Department of Labor's guide on 401(k) fees states that fees and expenses generally fall into three categories: plan administration, investment, and individual services fees. By requiring all service providers, whether they just provide recordkeeping or if they perform it all, to disclose fees in broad categories, such as these, companies and employees can better evaluate what they are getting for what price they pay. It is my understanding that some service providers are already disclosing more than what is required. I hope that we can capture those ``best practices'' and implement them across the board so that all workers and employers have the best data available.

Additionally, my bill would apply not only to 401(k) plans, but to all tax-preferred, participant-directed defined contribution plans, including 403(b) plans and governmental 457(b) plans. These amendments are all within the Internal Revenue Code, and therefore, penalties for not complying will be taxes assessed per violation per day, subject to a cap. I hope to work with the Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Mr. Rangel, to address this issue within the Committee very soon as I know he shares my concern that the taxpayers' interests be protected.

Despite the news that 8 in 10 participants do not know what fees are charged, there is some good news out there too. One recent study from the Investment Company Institute, or ICI, found that the asset-weighted expense ratios for stock mutual funds in 401(k) plans fell last year over the prior year. This may be in response to another finding from ICI--that more workers are considering fees over the investment's track record.

It is my hope that this bill will provide much more information about plan fees and expenses in a useful way without overwhelming recipients. I urge my colleagues to join me in this effort.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Blumenauer for yielding the time. And I want to acknowledge Chairman Rangel and Jim McCrery today for the manner in which they moved this legislation and how swiftly they addressed the issue that is looming across markets here in America and has had, in fact, an international impact.

In my home State of Massachusetts, foreclosures have risen by 66 percent over the last year. Recent studies have estimated that one in five subprime mortgages from the past 2 years will result in foreclosure. That means more than 1 million homeowners will lose their opportunity to hold on to the American Dream. But even more distressing will be the tax bill if the lender is kind enough to forgive part of this debt.

We want to do all that we can to keep them in their home and to work out some arrangement to help them keep paying, even if that means forgiving a part of the tax debt. But with the tax bill looming, many might even argue that that could be counterproductive. So that's why I'm enthusiastic about supporting the legislation that's on the floor today.

This bipartisan bill, and I emphasize, the most bipartisan bill in the last 7 years on the Ways and Means committee, this bipartisan bill would change the current tax law and provide that homeowners would not be taxed on the portion of forgiven debt if due to financial hardship or decline, and I emphasize decline, in the value of the home.

It simply makes good sense to do this. The bill has been endorsed by the Realtors Association, the homebuilders, the mortgage bankers, and most importantly, members of the American family.

This is a commonsense proposal. I hope we're all going to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I'm honored to serve as chairman of the Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee. That subcommittee reviews tax legislation that has been referred to the Ways and Means Committee. We take this responsibility most seriously. Raising or lowering the tax burden on families and businesses has a real impact, both on those individuals and on the economy.

I was concerned when I heard debate last week suggesting that the House had changed our procedural rules for considering tax increases. The gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Price) mistakenly stated that the House rules no longer require a supermajority for tax rate increases.

The House rules on this subject are exactly the same as they were under the last Congress. The rule was written by the Republican majority back in 1997 and has remained unchanged.

I simply wanted to ensure that the record was entirely clear on this subject.

Mr. Speaker, imagine Republicans today saying that they don't trust local government and local decision- making. As a former mayor, let me tell you, that is where much of the great creativity and innovation takes place, in America's cities and town halls.

There is an opportunity here to experiment. This is using a Republican argument. What might work well in Arizona might not work well in Connecticut, or vice versa. This is an opportunity to hear from the mayors of America, to hear from the town halls, to hear from legislative leaders and Governors. They are the people every day who make important decisions.

Are Republicans saying at this moment they have contempt or mistrust of local decision-making? That has been almost the phrase that they have adopted for the last 25 years: ``turn decision-making back to local government.'' There are different regional problems that demand different regional solutions, and this offers the opportunity.

Lastly, our friend, the gentleman from Pennsylvania, said it was good for the blogosphere. One thing we know about Republicans, if they thought they could drill for oil in the blogosphere, they would give it a go.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support an energy bill that puts our country on a greener energy path. The tax provisions will expedite the adoption of green energy from solar, wind, biofuels, geothermal and other environmentally friendly sources.

The $16 billion energy tax package helps energy stakeholders and communities to invest in renewable sources as well as energy conservation and efficiency.

One of the new and more progressive tax provisions is an energy conservation bond program which helps municipalities finance conservation projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Massachusetts stands to receive over $76 million through this program and since the largest cities and counties are given priority in this program, Springfield, Massachusetts, would be eligible for $1.8 million in bonding authority helping to lead the way to a greener Massachusetts.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation takes an innovative approach to new technologies and ideas to promote greener energy. The incentives are not narrowly focused on energy industry players alone. Consumers are also given incentives to make energy-efficient investments in their homes and properties, which represents a holistic approach to lessening our reliance on fossil fuels and towards a greener, cleaner America.

Mr. Speaker, I think there is one acknowledgment that we all ought to come to very quickly, and it goes like this: The wealthy, the healthy and the strong have had a great run of it for the last 6 years.

Think of that terror that overcomes that family with that child who needs health care. Think of that child who died because he had not gotten to a dentist in America in the year 2007. Think of what we are doing today, advancing an opportunity for health care for all members of the American family.

My friend, Mr. McCrery, said if we had had an opportunity to vet this issue. Let me remind the audience, the Republicans required us to read the bill. The Ways and Means Committee spent 6 hours reading the bill. To argue that somehow there was not an opportunity to vet the issue when we read the bill is akin to setting the fire and calling the fire department. That is the argument we are being asked to embrace.

This is a good piece of legislation. It ought to have bipartisan support. Use the model of the National Governors Association. That is a bipartisan organization.

Mr. Speaker, our men and women in the military have done everything that has been asked of them, and it's time for a new direction.

The reason we're here is because the Republican party never asked a question of the administration for all those years, not one question. They forfeited their oversight responsibilities.

Remember the briefings in the well of this House; we know where the weapons of mass destruction are; according to the Secretary of Defense, they are in south Baghdad; we were going to be welcomed as liberators; the insurgency, as the Vice President stated it, is in its last throws; and finally, mission accomplished? Now we hear: But just give us more time. Stay the course.

If we had asked some questions here along the way, and not been subservient to the White House, we wouldn't find ourselves where we are today, funeral upon funeral, 26,000 Americans wounded. Yet we are told by the White House, just give us more time for this policy to take root.

How much more time? Vote for this resolution.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce legislation to help our nation's 1.5 million retailers. The bill that I am filing today, along with my Committee colleagues Representatives Phil English, Artur Davis, and Sam Johnson, would provide a quicker cost recovery for improvements to retail-owned property.

Already, retailers or other commercial entities that rent, rather than own their property can recover the costs of improvements over 15 years. Owners of retail property, however, must write-off these same improvements to their property over 39 years. There is little reason for such a distinction; the wear and tear on the property is the same. In fact, studies by the Congressional Research Service, the Treasury Department, and other private economists have found that the current asset lives assigned to buildings and improvements are far too long.

Many small retailers own their buildings and are unable to afford the space in the more desirable malls. One of my constituents, Dave Ratner of Dave's Soda and Pet City in Agawam, MA, testified before Congress earlier this year on this issue. Dave employs 86 people in western Massachusetts at his four locations. He competes with the major pet care chain stores, which often lease pricey space in the malls. Because their property is leased, it is eligible for the quicker cost recovery, providing a significant tax advantage over Dave's shops.

Since half of retail spaced is owned and half is rented, Congress should try to create parity within this industry. Our retailers employ one in five American workers and generally must remodel their stores every five to seven years in order to keep up with customers' tastes and needs. These retail owners, the majority of whom have less than five employees, are often all you see along Main Street in the small cities and especially in rural areas. Ownership signifies a long-term commitment to the community. We should at least level the playing field for these community-based businesses.

We urge you to join us in supporting legislation to allow a quicker cost recovery for improvements to retail-owned property. It is one

way to help retailers remain competitive and stay on Main Street.

Madam Speaker, I rise to introduce legislation today to shut down a potential loophole in the anti- inversion provisions of the tax code. As many of my colleagues will remember, I lead the charge back in early 2002 to shut down the so- called ``corporate expatriate'' loophole. Corporate expatriates trade in their U.S. citizenship for citizenship in certain no-tax or low-tax havens through reincorporation or a corporate ``inversion.'' These corporate expatriates often have little or no presence in these haven jurisdictions; some merely rent a mailbox to establish their new headquarters.

Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, some aggressive tax advisors were telling their clients that the climate was ripe for inversions as most stock prices were depressed. The only tax paid when a corporation departed was a tax on the gain of the stock or assets transferred to the new foreign parent company. As one tax advisor put it, ``Maybe patriotism needs to take a back seat to improved corporate profits.''

Despite the outcry from shareholders, taxpayers, and many of us in Congress, the leadership of the prior Congress fought enactment of a loophole closer. It was not until late in 2004, in the American Jobs Creation Act, that corporate expatriation was finally put to a halt. That bill used the same formula of my original bill--simply stating that if almost all of the shareholders of the new foreign company were the same as under the old American company and if the company had little real business in the host foreign country, then the corporate expatriate would be taxed as if it were still a U.S. company.

That new law put a chill on the market for corporate expatriation. However, earlier this year, one American company stated it was moving the headquarters of the operation to a foreign country with no corporate income tax. The company is not really changing its residency. Many have speculated that this is really a two-step process: move some administrative functions abroad to establish a minimal presence, and then give up U.S. corporate citizenship.

I think this would circumvent the intent of the original law and that is why I am filing legislation today to close that loophole. My bill would exclude any management or administrative functions, including the corporate headquarters, from the calculation of what constitutes substantial business activities in the foreign country. I am sure that many CEOs would not think it too much a sacrifice to relocate their office to the sunnier climes of some of these havens and thereby shave millions off of the company's tax bill. I urge my colleagues to support my legislation to prevent this type of tax avoidance.

I would also add that I do not view these events in a vacuum. Clearly, this Congress needs to look at more incentives to keep American companies and jobs here. I have discussed with Chairman Rangel holding hearings on how our tax code treats both domestic and foreign sources of income to make sure American companies can successfully compete in a global market. However, until such changes are made, I will continue my efforts to prevent ``self-help'' maneuvers, such as the fiction of corporate expatriation.

A summary of my bill follows:

Bill Summary

Present law

Section 801 of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004

(AJCA) added section 7874 to the Internal Revenue Code.

Section 7874 provides certain rules designed to remove

incentives for corporations to engage in inversion

transactions. However, the anti-inversion rules do not apply

if the expanded affiliated group (EAG) of the corporation has

business activities in the foreign country in which, or under

the laws of which, the acquiring foreign entity was created

or organized and such business activities are substantial

when compared to the total business activities of the EAG.

(For purposes of section 7874, the EAG is similar to the

affiliated group permitted to file a consolidated federal

income tax return, except that companies are considered to be

in the expanded affiliated group if they are more than 50

percent owned by the common parent or other members (the

consolidation rules required 80 percent) and foreign

corporations may be included in the expanded affiliated

group.) In explaining the reason for this legislative change,

the ``Blue Book'' compiled by Joint Tax states, ``The

Congress believed that inversion transactions resulting in

minimal presence in a foreign country of incorporation were a

means of avoiding U.S. tax and should be curtailed.'' Staff

of Joint Comm. on Taxation, General Explanation of Tax

Legislation Enacted in the 108th Congress, at 343 (Comm.

Print JCS-5-05).

On June 5, 2006, the Department of the Treasury and the

Internal Revenue Service issued Temporary and Proposed

Regulations that, among other things, provide certain rules

regarding the substantial activities test (T.D. 9265). The

regulations provide both an all-facts-and-circumstances test

and a bright-line safe harbor test to determine whether an

EAG has substantial business activities in the acquiring

foreign entity's country of incorporation when compared to

the total business activities of the EAG. Under the general

rule of the all-facts-and-circumstances test, the

determination of whether the EAG has substantial business

activities in the relevant foreign country, when compared to

the total business activities of the EAG, is based on an

analysis of all the facts and circumstances of each case. The

regulations set forth a non-exclusive list of factors to be

considered in the analysis. The weight given to any factor

depends on the particular circumstances. The listed factors

include, among other factors, the EAG's local employee

headcount and payroll, property, and sales; the EAG's

historical presence in the foreign country; its management

activities in the country; and the strategic importance to

the EAG as a whole of the business activities in that

country.

The regulations state that the presence or absence of any

factor, or any particular number of factors, in the list is

not determinative, and that there is no minimum percentage of

the group's total employee headcount, payroll, assets, or

sales that must be shown to be in the foreign country.

The safe harbor test is satisfied if the EAG satisfies

three conditions, relating to employees, assets, and sales.

The first condition is that the group employees based in the

foreign country account for at least 10 percent (by headcount

and compensation) of total group employees. The second

condition is that the total value of the group assets located

in the foreign country represents at least 10 percent of the

total value of all group assets. The third condition is that

the group sales made in the foreign country accounts for at

least 10 percent of total group sales.

The bill

The bill provides that for purposes of the substantial

activities test of section 7874, any management or

administrative activities, including the location of any

corporate headquarters, taking place in the foreign country

in which, or under the law of which, the inverted entity is

created or organized shall not be taken into account as

business activities. Under the bill, for example, if a U.S.

company inverts to country X, and its management is located

in country X or performs much of its management activities

there, the activities of its management in country X are not

taken into account for purposes of determining whether the

activities of the EAG in country X are substantial when

compared to the total worldwide business activities of the

EAG. On the other hand, under that example if any management

activities of the EAG take place outside of country X, such

management activities are taken into account in applying the

substantial activities test.

The bill modifies the statutory substantial business

activities test, and accordingly limits the application of

both the all-facts-and-circumstances test and the safe harbor

of the regulations.

Under the bill, the term ``management activities'' includes

any management activities, and therefore extends beyond top

corporate management. For example, it would include

management activities relating to operational units.

Similarly, the term ``administrative activities'' includes

departments whose function is essentially administrative in

nature, such as accounting, as well as administrative

activities relating to or performed by operational units.

Madam Speaker, I would like to take a moment to reflect upon the events of 25 years ago and to remember the tremendous sacrifice a generation of veterans and their families made for our country at that time.

58,256 names are engraved on the black granite walls of the Vietnam Memorial Wall here in Washington, DC to honor America's war dead of a generation ago. The stories of these individuals and their families make our hearts ache today and will never be forgotten.

Jo-Ann Moriarty, a reporter from The Republican newspaper in Springfield, MA, compiled a series of stories this Memorial Day about Vietnam veterans from Western Massachusetts that touches upon their experience while serving our country. Their stories are remarkably similar to those being told by the brave men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan today. Sharing this history is critically important so that we never forget the serious impact of war.

I would like to submit the first two pieces of Jo-Ann Moriarty's series into the Congressional Record today for others to enjoy, and to thank veterans from Massachusetts and across America for their service to our country.

[From the Republican, May 27, 2007]

Raw Emotions Surface at Vietnam Memorial

(By Jo-Ann Moriarty)

At each end of the Vietnam Memorial Wall, the black granite

rises only 8 inches above the earth--ankle high.

But, with each step forward, visitors find themselves

sinking deeper and deeper into a well of names--tens of

thousands of names of America's young men--engraved on a

stone wall that, at its center, towers 10 feet.

For many veterans of the Vietnam War, it feels as if they

are descending into an abyss. It can be suffocating.

All those names etched into the wall take one's breath

away. They find themselves drowning in memories and images of

buddies and brothers they loved and lost.

Marine Corps Capt. Daniel M. Walsh III, now the director of

veteran affairs for the city of Springfield, had his

sergeant, Leonard A. Hultquist, die in his arms during combat

just moments before he, himself, was struck by a bullet.

Under fire, Army Cpl. Heriberto Flores, who is today the

head of the New England Farm Workers Council in Springfield,

was a door gunner aboard a UH-1 Huey helicopter when he saw

his friend from Springfield, Army Spc. Paul E. Bonnette, hit

by enemy fire. He was 21.

This marks the 25th anniversary year of ``the wall,'' a

long, thin line of black granite that stretches 246.9 feet

along the National Mall. Nestled into the landscape below the

lofty monuments that honor George Washington and Abraham

Lincoln, it is the nation's memorial to its war dead in

Vietnam.

It was designed by Maya Lin, an Asian-American, at the age

of 21 while she was still an undergraduate at Yale

University.

It bears 58,256 names.

It took a decade after its building before Walsh, Flores or

Springfield attorney Frederick A. Hurst could make their

visits. Hurst's youngest brother, Army Spc. Ronald C. Hurst,

was killed April 12, 1967, when the Jeep he was driving

struck a landmine in Vietnam.

``It was emotional,'' said Flores, who ultimately first

visited the monument with his wife, Grace.

Hurst stenciled his brother's name during his visit. ``It

was tough,'' he recalled recently.

Walsh only went because he was engineered there by three of

his young sons, one of whom became a Marine and all of whom

wanted to know their father's history.

``I never had any intention of going to see it,'' Walsh

said. ``We lost a lot of people. A lot of people were hurt. A

lot of bad things happened.''

The wall holds the names of guys with whom Walsh shared

foxholes and who were friends from Holy Name School--like

Army Sgt. Walter ``Buddy'' J. Fitzpatrick, of Springfield,

killed in combat in South Vietnam on March 3, 1967, and Army

Lt. Bernard J. Lovett Jr., also of Springfield, whose tour of

duty in Vietnam began on July 22, 1970 and ended when he was

killed in action on Oct. 16, 1970 in Hua Nghia.

Walsh knew and admired another Springfield friend, Marine

Capt. Ralph E. Hines, who was killed in combat on Feb. 19,

1967. He was 28.

Oddly, when Walsh finally made it to the wall, he found the

unexpected.

``It was peaceful,'' Walsh said. ``The memories kept

flowing back, a lot were good, with the troops.''

In Vietnam, Flores saw duty aboard Huey helicopters,

dropping infantrymen in the field in the morning and

collecting them in the afternoon. He would notice fresh faces

among the troops and pray they would make it back on the

helicopter by the end of the day. Some were waiting in body

bags.

To Flores, the wall is validation.

``I think it is closing the circle,'' Flores said.

``Certain lessons we've learned. The nation has honored us.

For so many years, we were losers. And now, people realize we

were soldiers.''

Those soldiers were in a no-win situation as Vietnam

devolved into a civil war where the enemy and the innocent

were hard to distinguish. Army infantrymen and Marines snaked

through the jungles, going from hilltop to hilltop, moving

constantly while the Navy patrolled seemingly endless rivers

and the Air Force and Army flight crews performed missions

from above. Vietnam was a place of guerilla warfare and

underground tunnels, where everyone--man, woman or child--

could be the enemy, or not.

There was the My Lai massacre, in which American soldiers

killed hundreds of innocents, and back home anti-war

protestors chanted outside of President Lyndon B. Johnson's

White House, ``Hey, hey LBJ, how many kids did you kill

today.''

``Anyone there was a loser,'' said Westfield native

Benjamin Sadowski Jr., the son of a survivor of the famed

World War II Battle of the Bulge, who survived his own combat

tour in Vietnam.

Up north in the tiny Franklin County town of Shelburne

Falls, which had a population of about 2,600 at the time,

families grieved the loss of four of their sons in Vietnam.

Altogether, from the four counties of Western

Massachusetts, the Vietnam War claimed 200 casualties, 50 in

the city of Springfield alone.

``Two of my best buddies, plus my brother,'' said John E.

``Jack'' Palmeri, whose brother James E. ``Jimmy'' Palmeri

died 11 days after being hit by mortar fire on Feb. 26, 1967.

He was 20.

Jack Palmeri, who enlisted in the Army and was sent to

Germany, had advised his younger brother to do the same.

``But Jimmy said, `I can't stand the military for three

years. I'll take my chances.' ''

While others shed their uniforms when returning home from

services, Jack Palmeri wore his home in honor of his brother

and his friends, Army Spc. Ronald E. Wissman, killed at age

20 in action on May 21, 1967, and Marine Capt. Paul T.

Looney, a helicopter pilot shot down on May 10, 1967.

For those who returned home, he said, ``We were not

welcomed. The country was divided and Vietnam divided it.''

In those days, there was sometimes no distinction between

the hatred of the Vietnam War and the U.S. troops who fought

there.

The nation was torn apart by race riots. Anti-war

protesting students were caught up in the homefront violence

seen in the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and

Robert F. Kennedy in 1968.

Kennedy, running a presidential campaign on the promise of

getting out of Vietnam, was shot dead in June. Months after

his killing, the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago was

engulfed in violence in the streets--the Chicago cops beating

the long-haired protesters who had gathered to demonstrate

against the war in Vietnam.

There were the killings of four students at Kent State

University as they protested the U.S. invasion of Cambodia in

1970, shot dead by Ohio National Guardsmen.

There was Vietnam veteran and future U.S. senator John F.

Kerry in 1971 in combat fatigues testifying against the war

before the Senate Foreign Relations committee.

And, the U.S. troops, fighting in a divided country half-

way round the world, wound up returning home to another

divided country.

It was a time of tumult and change, verging, at times on

chaos.

Rock star Jimi Hendrix sang to the rage, pain, passion and

confusion of the nation's youth: ``Purple haze all in my

brain. Lately things just don't seem the same.''

In Vietnam, New York banker Henry ``Hank'' Trickey was a

sergeant in ``Alpha'' Company of the Army's 101st Airborne

Division and was steps behind Springfield native Spc. Peter

F. Nolan when Nolan was hit by ambush fire, dead on May 8,

1970, at the age of 21.

``There was no front line,'' Trickey recalled recently.

``Constant movement. You never knew what was in front of you.

You never knew if you would make it through the day.''

Flores flew infantrymen in and out of battle zones every

day. Sometimes the drop was

bad--sending the soldiers off to a set-up by the enemy.

Sometimes, the helicopters were under intense fire, and one

would go down or an American B-52 bomber would appear and

drop napalm.

``It was organized insanity,'' Flores said. ``People you

are defending are shooting at you.''

A lot of the guys, like Flores, were high school drop-outs.

But blacks, whites and Latinos discovered among the rag-tag,

chain-smoking, beer-drinking fearless ranks a brotherhood

free from racism and filled with pure faith, courage and

valor.

``When we see each other, we say, `I love you, brother,'

and we really mean that,'' Flores said. ``I was proud to be

there. We did not choose the war; they sent us.''

The wall which memorializes the dead from a war that once

divided the nation has become a source of comfort, a place

for mending.

``It is a healing thing,'' Palmeri said.

Hurst, who views his brother's death as a waste of a life

that had so much promise, said he has found a peace at the

monument.

``My personal comfort came from the reaction the country

had to the wall,'' Hurst said. ``The wall brought a

resolution to the whole Vietnam thing.''

Oklahoma resident Tommy Kellogg was steps behind

Springfield teenager Army Pfc. James A. Messer when Messer

was caught in an ambush.

Messer, 18, a parachuter, had been recently recruited from

B Company of the 1st 327 Infantry Battalion of the 101st

Airborne to join Tiger Force. It was a fierce band of 45

soldiers on a new assignment with loose orders concerning

search and destroy missions in the jungle.

Kellogg has not seen the wall. Nor has Hank Trickey.

James Austreng, of Wisconsin, also hasn't been able to make

a visit to the wall. Yet, after all these years, he still

holds the memory of a 21-year-old from Westfield, James D.

Zebert.

It was Zebert who provided cover for his squad--including

Austreng--only to be shot dead minutes later in Tay Ninh,

South Vietnam, on June 27, 1979. His tour had begun just 18

days earlier.

The Army private who served under Capt. Steven J. Popkin,

of Springfield, still can visualize the Mohawk helicopter

pilot wearing his hat slightly askew.

``Capt. Popkin was one of the nicest guys all around. He

was a damn fine aviator,'' said Bruce Gaylord, who grew up in

Michigan. ``He didn't lord his rank over anyone. He would

never make a joke about someone else. He had a rich sense of

humor and a wonderful laugh.''

``He was a good officer, the kind of guy you would follow

into hell,'' Gaylord said.

But not to the nation's capital.

``I could never bring myself to it,'' Gaylord said.

[From the Republican, May 28, 2007]

Vietnam Green Beret Made Chicopee Proud

(By Jo-Ann Moriarty)

What can you say about a 24-year-old man whose name is

among 58,256 on the Vietnam War Memorial?

That he was the platoon leader in Bravo Company.

That every day he assigned someone from the squad to watch

over ``Mouse.''

That he and his grunts, strapped with M-16s, trailed a

jungle maze for weeks and fought for their lives as the young

lieutenant tried to pick their battles.

Mark C. Rivest, of Chicopee, was an officer and gentleman.

He was one of the famed ``Green Berets'' in the Army's

Special Forces, and he completed two tours in Vietnam as the

leader of a platoon which, for the most part, was composed

draftees, many of whom were high-school dropouts.

A couple of guys in the band of 30 men should probably have

never been in the Army, let alone assigned into the deadly

terrain around Hue, a battle-scarred city just below the

North Vietnam border.

``He is a very hard person to forget,'' recalled Manhattan

businessman Anthony Loiero, who turned 21 in Vietnam and

served under Rivest between 1969 and 1970.

``One of the things I remember the most about him was that

he tried to keep us out of trouble,'' Loiero said. And, when

they went in for the fight, ``he would make sure that we were

all protected. He was concerned about the guys he was

responsible for. The jobs we were doing, he wanted to make

sure we were there to do them the next day.''

The year before Rivest and most of his men arrived in

country, the Tet Offensive in 1968 ramped up the carnage and

particularly bloody was the battle for Hue.

When Communist forces seized the city, they held the city

for 25 days ``committing ghastly atrocities during the

initial phase of their occupation,'' wrote Stanley Karnow in

his Pulitzer Prize-winning book: ``Vietnam. A History.''

Back home, America was violent, too. Robert F. Kennedy and

Martin Luther King Jr. were assassinated within months of

each other. America was at war with itself. That summer,

anti-war protesters were beaten by Chicago police as they

stormed the Democratic Convention.

By 1969, when Rivest, who left behind his parents, Paul and

Catherine, two brothers and a sister in the Aldenville

section of Chicopee, and Loiero, an only child, who grew up

in the Italian enclave of West New York, N.J., where he still

lives, got to Vietnam, the death toll of American soldiers

and civilians--both in the North and South--was staggering.

Before they met, Rivest had completed a six-month tour as

platoon leader and, instead of alternating to the rear, ``he

transferred into the field again at his request,'' Loiero

said.

Rivest earned the confidence of the soldiers in his new

platoon almost immediately. Even-tempered, without bluster,

he was approachable and ruled by a shot from his dark eyes.

He was college educated. He smoked Chesterfields, played

the piano and had something about him that Loiero still

associates with Louis Armstrong's song, ``What a Wonderful

World.''

It took Loiero 13 years before he went to ``the wall'' in

Washington, D.C., to take in the full measure of the Vietnam

War's toll and tragedy, his delay mostly attributable to

seeing the actual engraving of his platoon leader's name.

Now, middle-aged, Rivest's covenant to keep the men in his

platoon safe with his good judgment and keen skills is even

more precious to Loiero who came home, got a college degree,

has a successful graphic arts business and is happily married

with two children.

``We were a rag-tag bunch of good guys living every day

hoping that every one of us would live to go home that day.''

Loiero said, adding that he still thinks ``about the way he

treated us. How he protected us. How his main objective was

to watch his gaggle of geese and to make sure we did the

right thing.''

``If we were in harm's way, he would be the first one out

there clearing the path,'' he added.

Rivest made his platoon a band of brothers. And, he did it

in many ways, Loiero said.

There were, for instance, specific orders that someone in

the squad watch over a guy nicknamed ``Mouse,'' and a couple

of other grunts, who Loiero said, ``should never have been in

the Army. Should never had been sent to Vietnam. And never

should have been in the infantry with the rest of us.''

Rivest instilled a discipline for constant movement.

The checklist was drilled into his men: Rifles cleaned.

Gear together. Who's got the gun flares. Teeth brushed. Boots

tied up. Who's watching ``Mouse'' today? Who's sleeping

first.

``Then you'd start all over,'' Loiero said. ``You make a

commitment to the guys next to you and they make it to you.

It is a brotherhood.''

After their tour ended, Loiero went home. And Rivest, from

what Loiero has been able to piece together, returned to

Special Forces duty. The next assignment he accepted took him

into Laos where he was killed in ground combat on June 4,

1970.

These days, Palmer resident Josh R. Morin, who once lived

across from the Rivest home on McKinstry Avenue in Chicopee,

carries the green beret of his boyhood friend to schools in

Western Massachusetts as he talks to students about U.S.

history and the Vietnam War.

As boys, they played Army together with their younger

brothers.

Morin had been to Vietnam and back before Rivest went, and

he warned his buddy against going because the terrain had

gotten so dangerous. Morin's combat buddy had been shot dead

inches from him.

When Rivest was killed, Morin, married at the time but

living on the same street, said he couldn't go to the

funeral.

``I couldn't go to his funeral and face his mother and

father, the idea that I made it and he hadn't. I couldn't

deal with it and now I regret that,'' Morin said. ``I never

saw them again.''

Someone in the family later entrusted Morin with Rivest's

green beret and his medals.

Madam Speaker, it is my honor today to submit into the Congressional Record the history of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Church in Springfield, Massachusetts, as it celebrates its centennial anniversary.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church is the focal point of the Italian- American community in Springfield. I would like to take time today to acknowledge this important anniversary and to extend to the communicants of the Mount Carmel Church my best wishes for a strong and prosperous future.

The Centennial 1907-2007 History of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Roman

Catholic Church

In the late 1800s, the Italian community in greater

Springfield, Mass., held religious services in the basement

chapel of St. Michael Cathedral. A separate church in the

South End, where most of the immigrants had settled, was an

increasing need. Bishop Thomas Beaven placed this hope in the

hands of the Stigmatine Congregation of Verona, Italy. Frs.

Anthony Dalla Porta, first pastor, and Alfred Ballestrazzi

came to the United States in May 1906. In 1907, a new Our

Lady of Mount Carmel Church was named. The building, seating

500 worshippers, cost $35,000. It opened on December 24,

1911. Nearly 1,000 families were members of the infant

parish. In 1919, five religious sisters, Daughters of Our

Lady of Mercy, arrived from Savona, Italy. They opened a day

nursery, sewing classes, and children's catechism

instruction. The church building was expanded in 1932.

Stigmatine Fathers William Ludessi, Erminio Lona, Charles

Zanotti, Peter Toretta, Paul Zanini, Camillo Santini, Carmen

Russo, Richard Scioli, and currently Robert White, have

served as pastors.

Mt. Carmel Church survived the Great Depression, the flood

waters of 1936, and the hurricane of 1938. Church societies'

fund-raising liquidated all debt by 1946. An elementary

school, staffed by the sisters, opened in 1948. In 1959, a

second major renovation of the church took place. The parish

entered its Diamond years with hope and pride in the future.

Weekly St. Anthony devotion remains steadfast. In 1991, the

new position of Pastoral Minister, open to a qualified non-

ordained person, was filled by Sister of St. Joseph Elizabeth

Matuszek. The quality of education, which the Daughters of

Mercy established, has kept the school open as one of five

Catholic schools left in Springfield. Its first lay principal

was Mrs. Claire Cote, who in 2002, achieved the maximum ten-

year accreditation by the New England Association of Schools

and Colleges, and opened a Preschool, an after-school

program, and a computer laboratory. Mrs. Carol Raffaele

succeeded Mrs. Cote in 2003, completing its interim

evaluation for accreditation. The computer lab went state-of-

the-art wireless. Library cataloging was computerized, and

offices were connected to the Internet. The school developed

a web page, www.mountcarmelschool.org. OLMC graduates

consistently score in the top percentile in standardized

tests. They thrive in high school, college, and beyond.

In Religious Education for our public school students, 26

CCD volunteers have been awarded the diocesan St. Pius X

Medal, every year since the inception of this honor.

Intergenerational Religious Education began with this

Centennial Year Generations of Faith. Families with children,

and adult households, came together for religious formation

sessions.

Lay ministry has expanded far beyond our worthy list of

certified lectors, special ministers of the Eucharist, choir,

and ushers. Women and girls have joined men and boys as altar

servers. Qualified laity help prepare candidates for the

sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Communion, and

Marriage.

Members continue fundraising efforts in this age of rapidly

escalating expenses. Bingo was a lucrative source of funds

from 1967 to 1997. The October Taste of Italy became a new

social focus and important fundraiser, first held in 1992.

``Bring your best Italian foods to serve at least 100'' was

the request. Participants respond to the zealous leadership

of Chairperson Rosemarie Costa. Hundreds come to affirm and

enjoy the culinary achievements of dozens of Italian cooks.

Clerical tasks have become computerized. Clubs and

Societies remain a consistent base of spiritual, social, and

economic vitality. The Women's Guild is an important body of

support for the parish. The Ministry of Caring of St. Vincent

DePaul extends the Works of Mercy to and beyond our parish

parameters. The Men's Retreat League continues its annual

weekend at Holy Family Retreat Center in E. Hartford, CT. The

parish Knights of Columbus are St. Gaspar Bertoni Council

5037. The Holy Name Society hosted the last of its coffee

hours in 1999. Youth Ministry proudly donated a $700

replacement tree to the church, and sent a contingent to the

Catholic Youth Conference in St. Louis in 1996. They donated

half their treasury to the Centennial Renovation Fund.

For the 90th anniversary in 1997, a $300,000 capital

campaign restored the slate roof and stained glass and

alabaster windows. New entrance doors were installed.

Centennial plans began in 2002, for spiritual renewal,

communications, and a $1.6

million capital campaign for physical renovations. Peter

Zorzi of Studio One Architects, of our South End parish

neighborhood, said, ``I can't count how many Sundays I sat at

8:30 Mass imaging what I would do to restore this church!''

With well-established competence and experience, Studio One

brought us an enduring enthusiasm and a church of renewed

beauty. Our gratitude for their services is beyond measure.

We installed the Verdin Singing Tower Carillon from nearby

St. Joseph Church which closed. Its seasonal hymns resound

throughout the South End three times daily. All pews were

removed for restoration and resizing. Artists Salvatore Degli

Atti and Salvatore Rossi of Italy achieved the acclaimed

renovations. From St. Polycarp Church in Somerville, which

closed, we purchased marble altars and other appointments.

Architects redesigned the sanctuary space, completing

handicap accessibility.

Fifty travelers journeyed to Italy in honor of the

Centennial. The Communications Committee reached out to our

most senior members, inviting those 80 years of age and older

to submit memories and photos for the Anniversary Book. 101

responded.

A Mass of Thanksgiving for the Centennial was celebrated in

the renewed church on June 10, 2007. Principal Celebrant and

Homilist was Most Reverend Timothy A. McDonnell, Bishop of

Springfield. A dinner for 700 followed at the Castle of

Knights in Chicopee.

Since the 1907 South End origin of the parish, Interstate

highway configuration has dispersed members to many

surrounding cities and towns. Blessed with their heritage of

Catholic faith, a festive Italo-American spirit, and strong

and extended family, Mt. Carmel parishioners remain a vibrant

and proud witness to their heritage and faith in

Springfield's South End.

Madam Speaker, it is my honor today to pay my respects to my friend Janee Armstrong Friedmann, who passed away on March 21. Janee was an outstanding and generous woman whose dedication to the Greater Springfield community will continue to be felt for years to come.

I submit for the Congressional Record today a biography of Janee Armstrong Friedmann to honor her memory and to preserve her many accomplishments and contributions in the annals of our Nation's history. She is sorely missed by all who knew her.

Janee Armstrong Friedmann, January 11, 1937-March 21, 2007

Arts and social service organizations in Greater

Springfield owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Janee

Armstrong Friedmann.

Not only was Janee a generous supporter in her own right,

she inspired others to give as well. Janee's reputation as a

fundraiser was such that, when she called a potential donor,

they answered with their checkbook in hand.

During her many years as a volunteer and trustee with the

Springfield Library & Museums Association, Janee always took

a leadership role in fundraising efforts. It was during her

tenure as Chairman of the Board of Trustees that the

Association launched the most ambitious fundraising effort in

its history--the $11 million Quadrangle Capital Campaign for

improvements to Springfield's four museums and nine

libraries. She was part of the team that brought in the

successful campaign nearly $3 million over its goal. She

served on and chaired the Association's Development

Committee, inspiring other volunteers to actively participate

in fundraising. She chaired the Society of William Rice, the

Association's highest category of private donors, and has

solicited most of its 123 members personally, raising more

than $160,000 annually for more than a decade.

Janee was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on January

11, 1937, the daughter of the late F. Thoburn and Sara

Northrup Armstrong. She was educated at Wyoming Seminary in

Kingston, Pennsylvania, and

furthered her education at Bryn Mawr College, where she

received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in History, with Magna

Cum Laude distinction. Janee later obtained her Master's

Degree in Education at Temple University and another Master's

Degree in International Relations from the University of

Pennsylvania.

Janee is survived by her devoted husband of 45 years, Dr.

Paul Friedmann, of Longmeadow, her two daughters, Pamela

Erica Armstrong Friedmann, of Washington, DC, and Cynthia

Armstrong Friedmann Campbell and her husband Robert, of

Columbia, South Carolina. Janee is also survived by her

adored grandson, Fitzwilliam Colin Campbell.

Larry A. McDermott, publisher of The Republican, said that

with Friedmann's passing, the region has lost a devoted and

impassioned voice for the arts and education.

``Janee, the epitome of grace and intellect, had a strength

matched only by her wisdom and compassion. We are grateful

for her efforts to make Western Massachusetts a better place

in which to live.''

Joseph Carvalho III, President and Chief Executive Officer

of the Springfield Museums, said Friedmann had touched every

aspect of the Museums from fundraising for Capital Campaigns

to assisting with gallery collection upgrades. ``She was

probably one of the most incredible life forces that we had

here at the museum. Her energy, enthusiasm and tireless work

in trying to help the community and help the museum was

unparalleled. ``

David Starr, president of The Republican, recalled working

with Friedmann on assorted civic and community boards over a

span of 30 years. ``Janee and I worked together on so many

campaigns, raising money to refurbish the Springfield

Museums, to build new libraries, to buy new high-definition

equipment for WGBY, to help the Springfield Symphony stay

alive and well. She did it all with such verve and grace and

elegance. She was a stunning woman who was always ready to

roll up her sleeves and pitch in and work for the good causes

she believed in.''

Janee was very active in the community, serving as the

President of the Junior League of Greater Springfield, the

Richard Salter Storrs Library of Longmeadow, the Early

Childhood Center of Springfield, the Springfield Symphony

Orchestra, the Springfield Public Forum, the Longmeadow

Gardeners, and Vice-President of the Maple Hill Cemetery

Association of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. She also served as

the Chairman of the Board of the Springfield Museums

Association.

Mrs. Friedmann received numerous awards for her work,

including the Mary Alice Rogers Award for Volunteerism from

public television station WGBY-TV, Channel 57, in 2006, and

the YWCA Women of Achievement Award in 1998. In 2001, Janee

received the William Pynchon Award, Western Massachusetts'

highest civic honor.

Madam Speaker, I wish to celebrate the accomplishments of the 16 Acre Lions Club as well as their 60 years of service to the great city of Springfield, Massachusetts. Below is a brief history of the Club as well as their many accomplishments.

The Springfield 16 Acres Lions Club began on April 25, 1947. The Club's charter night occurred on June 18, 1947. In the beginning, the meetings were held in various buildings, including Belle's, the Old School House, and the Foster Memorial Church. During the 1950s, the Club presented movies for the community in the School House for the price of a dime. All children were welcomed and no child was ever refused for lack of a dime.

Another hallmark of the Club during the 1950s, was the establishment of the Lions Orthopetic Clinic, established by Russell Koch (a past President of the Club) in 1951. The patients of the Clinic were referred by local ophthalmologists and were charged a fee according to their ability to pay. Today the facility remains open and is currently located on Maple Street in downtown Springfield.

Fred Hoare, a past District Governor, formed the sports program. The program included events for soccer, basketball, softball, as well as baseball. The Club held a soccer tournament every year on Memorial Day weekend, with teams from as far away as Virginia participating.

For the past 37 years, the Club has provided food baskets for needy families during the Christmas season. This is coordinated through the local churches. Along with food, presents for children are also included. Money to support this effort has been raised through a raffle ticket sale during the month of November.

The Club has also provided glaucoma and diabetic testing for the community. Eyeglasses as well as eye exams for those in need were provided free of charge through authorized facilities. Other charitable events included an annual Easter egg hunt held the Saturday before Easter at Greenleaf Park. Six local elementary schools participate in the Easer egg hunt every year. The Club also organizes a pancake breakfast at St. Catherine's on Park Street. The proceeds are used for scholarships for graduating high school seniors.

The Club also raises money for funding of the 33Y Lions District Eye Mobile. The mobile will be a fully equipped Winnebago for the testing of diabetes, high blood pressure, and glaucoma. The mobile will be equipped with a special camera to take photos of the retina. The camera will also be equipped with a fax machine that will send the photos to the Massachusetts Eye and Ear in Boston for analysis. This project has taken over eight years to complete and I am happy to report that it will be available this summer for use in any Lions Club in Western Massachusetts.

Fifteen years ago the Club began its participation of a beautification project in the center of 16 Acres. This project was headed by Lion Richard Messier and is now run by Mr. Richard Pond. The Club formed a committee in order to have a Lions Park at the corner of Wilbraham Road and Park Street. Members of the Club contribute by cutting grass, cleaning up the leaves, and planting flowers every spring for the Veterans on Memorial Day. They also place Christmas decorations including a lighted train. The Club has so far spent $3,500 dollars in order to keep the park beautiful.

Our Club has produced four District Governors. The late Robert Scott, Richard Leary, and Fred Hoare have served in this capacity. PDG John Ingalls is still active in the 16 Acres Club. These four men are held in high regard and are well respected for their accomplishments.

Lastly, it is important to note that the success of the many projects that this Club has undertaken is due to the dedication of its members. Lions truly demonstrate their motto, ``We Serve.''

Madam Speaker, I rise to offer bipartisan legislation to create additional savings opportunities for workers who do not have access to qualified retirement plans through their employers. I am pleased to be joined by Rep. Phil English in offering ``The Automatic IRA Act of 2007,'' along with several other cosponsors, which will increase retirement savings for millions of workers.

Over the years, Congress has improved incentives for employer-based retirement and pension plans by providing more flexibility, increasing the limits, and lessening the administrative burdens. Still, about one in four employees who have access to these successful retirement vehicles do not take advantage of them.

What is a much more difficult group to reach, though, are the estimated 75 million workers who do not have access to these employer- based plans. That is why today we are filing legislation to create automatic payroll deposit Individual Retirement Accounts, or IRA's, for workers who do not have access to employer-provided qualified pension plans. Our bill would require employers to automatically enroll employees in an ``auto IRA'' unless the employee opts out. These are ``set it and forget it'' payroll deposit accounts. The non-partisan Retirement Security Project has estimated that this proposal could raise net national savings by nearly $8 billion annually.

We are, of course, sensitive to any increased burden on small businesses, so the bill provides for a temporary tax credit for employers with less than 100 employees in order to offset the upfront administrative cost of establishing this program. Only employers with at least 10 employees, which have been in business for at least two years, would be covered by the bill. Further, the bill does not mandate any matching contributions by employers or any fiduciary responsibility for the management of the accounts. It is our sincere hope that once employers start participating, they will decide to convert these arrangements to the broader 401(k) plans. The IRA contribution limits are much lower than the 401(k) limits, so business owners may see incentives to switch to the bigger plans.

Employers have the option of choosing a private sector manager for the auto IRA's, but allowing each employee the right to transfer, or simply allowing the employee to designate the provider at the outset. As a default, an option similar to the successful and popular Thrift Savings Program would be established.

The automatic enrollment feature is not new. It builds upon the success of 401(k) auto enrollment, promoted by the Pension Protection Act of 2006. Many of the workers who will benefit from our bill will likely be moderate to lower-income workers. The proposal, which was jointly developed by Brookings Institution and Heritage Foundation scholars, has garnered widespread support, including AARP and the Minority Business Roundtable, and has been endorsed in New York Times editorials and by the Washington Times' lead political correspondent.

Of the 75 million American workers who have no access to an employer plan, over 40 million work for employers of at least 10 employees. And, only 10% of these workers actually seek out their own IRA's or other retirement savings vehicles. The auto IRA bill that we are proposing will reach this critical group of workers and hopefully help them start on the road to retirement security. We urge our

colleagues to join us in supporting ``The Automatic IRA Act of 2007.''