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MARCH 2002 - Against Pension Funding Cut - The debate, as to whether or not to allow Acting Governor Jane Swift's
veto of $134 million from the state's pension appropriation, raged on
for several hours in the House and nearly an hour in the Senate. Due to
the importance of this vote, as well as the complexities of the issue,
we would like to share excerpts from the debate with our members. The
Association has chosen to print only the statements made by those in
favor of overriding the veto. These quotes have been taken from the
report generated by the State House News Service. While many
legislators spoke on behalf of the override, limited space dictates
that we offer a representative sampling from five supporters. Debate in
the House began at 5:20 p.m. on December 5, when the question came on
overriding Acting Governor Swift's veto in line item 0612-1010 pension
liability fund, reducing it by $133.9 million. At that point, Speaker
Thomas Finneran recognized Representative John Rogers (D-Norwood), the
chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means.
John Rogers:
"A short time ago, I asked during consideration of the conference
committee report that you not allow good policy to take a seat behind
good politics. This violates the pension law as it is on the books. It
will have a negative impact on our bond rating to some degree... The
schedule the administration is pushing, by stretching it out another
decade, will cost from 2019 to 2028 an additional $8 billion. That is
an actuarial fact. The major reason we should override this veto is
because it's not good policy."
Frank Hynes (D-Marshfield):
"This puts another $8 billion on our indebtedness and says to our
children - you pay it. We have to make choices that are responsible,
not be seduced by what seems easy. What if Congress said that because
of Sept. 11 and a war we never anticipated, and increased security
needs, we are going to take money from Social Security to meet
operational needs. That would be something that those who depend on
Social Security would be outraged at."
Brian Dempsey (D-Haverhill), chairman of the Joint Committee on Public Service:
"I hope the veto is overridden. This is all about an obligation that we
take seriously and so does Wall Street. We have gone to a system that
is 82 percent funded. The foundation of what we do is fiscal
discipline. Everything we want to do - we need money to do it. This is
the most expensive $134 million I have seen. The cost is $8 billion." A
roll call was ordered at 7:25 PM, at which time the veto was overridden
by a vote of 120-33. The order was quickly placed before the Senate,
where it was brought to the floor for debate at 8:40 PM. Following the
remarks of the Republican Leader defending the governor's action,
Senate President Thomas Birmingham recognized Senator Brian Joyce
(D-Milton), who then co-chaired the Joint Committee on Public Service.
Brian Joyce:
"It would be imprudent not to override this veto. MTF (Mass Taxpayers
Foundation) calls this effort fiscally risky. In 1955 we began to
provide public employees with an old-age pension. By the mid-80s, we
had an extraordinary unfunded liability. Since 1988, we have made
tremendous strides. The liability has gone from $12 billion to $6
billion... The figure in our final budget is the Senate figure. It is
sound. The Senate proposal adopted by the House and opposed by the
governor is prudent and must be sustained."
Mark Montigny (D-New Bedford), chairman of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means:
"I urge an override. On the politics, we stand with the minority. We
all want to find ways to fund these important programs, but cutting the
pension funding is not the answer. I want to remind the members that
the number we are arguing for is the Senate number. We fought for a
schedule that is actuarially sound. Somehow it's irrelevant now to
Secretary Crosby. I suggest we stick to the promises made." After less
than 45 minutes of debate, the Senate voted to override the governor's
veto by a vote of 32-5. One Republican, Senator Robert Hedlund
(R-Weymouth) voted with the majority. With both branches of the
legislature voting to override the veto, the full pension appropriation
of $912 million was restored.
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Legislation 
