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EBSA News Release: [01/06/2006]
Contact Name: Gloria Della or David James
Phone Number: (202) 693-8664
Release Number: 06-37-CHI

Assistant Secretary of Labor Addresses Ft. Wayne, Ind., Businesses on President’s Retirement Security and Health Care Agenda

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor Ann L. Combs spoke to the Northern Indiana ASPPA Benefits Council in Fort Wayne, Ind., today highlighting the Bush Administration’s economic policies and the retirement and health care issues critical to America’s workers, retirees and their families.

“President Bush’s agenda has produced a strong, vibrant economy,” Combs told the audience. “Key components of that agenda include strengthening private pension plans and improving access to affordable, quality healthcare for Americans.”

Combs emphasized the Administration’s plans to reform the single-employer, defined benefit pension system that covers 34 million Americans. She stressed that the system must be reformed so that pension promises made by employers to workers are kept, plans are adequately funded and workers know the financial health of their pension plans.

Combs also discussed the Administration’s priorities to create opportunities for small employers and their employees to save for retirement and to help employers provide affordable healthcare for their workers.

“Today’s numbers cap a year of steady growth and good news for America’s workers,” said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao in a separate address in Baltimore, Md. “Two million net new jobs created in 2005, more Americans working than ever before — 142.8 million, and an average annual unemployment rate of 5.1% — one of the lowest annual average unemployment rates in the past 35 years. We need to stay the course with the President’s economic initiatives.”

The country’s economy has seen 31 straight months of job growth and maintains a steady and low unemployment rate of 4.9%. Chao highlighted the need to implement the President’s pro-growth economic policies to continue to strengthen the nation’s economy. These include making the tax cuts permanent, so workers can keep more of their hard-earned wages, and continuing to invest in worker training and reforming publicly funded training programs.

Listen to the audio news release.