January 11, 2001

The Honorable
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

RE: Position Papers on Health and Retirement Policy

Dear Representative:

America's private employer-sponsored benefits system is recognized throughout the world because of the quality of the coverage it provides and its flexibility to adapt to the ever-changing needs of businesses and their workers -- all on a purely voluntary basis. A recent American Benefits Council/Harris Interactive survey shows that our members -- who either sponsor or administer health and retirement plans covering more than 100 million Americans -- believe overwhelmingly that employee benefits are key to the competitive success of American businesses and that the importance of these benefits has more than doubled in the last 10 years.

As highlighted in our survey results and explained in the enclosed position papers, the 107th Congress has an enormous opportunity to help strengthen this system for employers and employees alike. Your leadership will also ensure that the private benefits system can provide retirement and health plan coverage to an even greater number of Americans.

In your work in the coming Congress, you will grapple with a range of high profile benefits issues. Congress can strengthen the employer-sponsored benefits system through appropriate action (as detailed in our attached position papers) on: retirement savings reform legislation, Social Security and Medicare reform, a patients' bill of rights, tax legislation, and stock ownership policy.

We stand ready to assist you and your staff on these important issues. The American Benefits Council (formerly APPWP - The Benefits Association) is the national trade association for companies concerned about federal legislation and regulations affecting all aspects of the employee benefits system. The Council's members represent the entire spectrum of the private employee benefits community. Additional assistance from the Council is available by contacting our policy staff: James Delaplane, Vice President, Retirement Policy, at jdelaplane@abcstaff.org; Paul Dennett, Vice President, Health Policy, at pdennett@abcstaff.org; and Maria McCann Ghazal, Director, Health Policy, at mghazal@abcstaff.org. All three can be reached by phone at 202-289-6700.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

James A. Klein
President