The Honorable _________________________
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20515

Dear _________________________________:

I am writing to seek your support of  H. R. 4844, also known as the "Railroad Retirement and Survivor's Improvement Act of 2000," recently introduced in the House of Representatives as H. R. 4844.

This historic legislation represents the first time in 25 years that labor, management and retirees have agreed on a set of changes to benefit those who rely on the Railroad Retirement System for a secure retirement.

A major coalition of 13 rail unions and rail retiree organizations representing more than 3 million members has recently reached an historic agreement with the railroads represented by the National Carriers’ Conference Committee to secure the following improvements detailed in H. R. 4844:

• An expansion of surviving spouse benefits;

• Unreduced retirement benefits at age 60 with 30 years of service;

• A retiree health insurance plan at age 60, with increases in the lifetime benefit maximum indexed to the medical inflation rate;

• A guarantee that the railroads will ensure the future solvency of the fund by absorbing any necessary future tax increases;

• A repeal of caps on Railroad Retirement benefits for long-term employees; and

• Five-year vesting.

In the wake of this historic agreement between labor and the railroads, and with the stability of the Railroad Retirement System guaranteed, I believe the time has come to make those changes which are long overdue and will benefit generations to come.

I hope I can count on your support of "Railroad Retirement & Survivor's Improvement Act of 2000" when this legislation is introduced in the Senate, and I look forward to hearing from you regarding your position on this important matter.

Sincerely yours,