approved by the Senate, 78 to 19 guess kerry was in the 19 number and lost again. if Kerry voted he would have been against freeing up this money, temporary basis for companies so they could keep the money in the company buy producing goods, building production and jobs, and buying capital equipment.. otherwise they would have had to set aside the money into a trust for pensions. $80 billions dollars would have been taken out of corp cash.
UPDATE 4-US Congress approves pension break for companies
Reuters, 04.08.04, 7:25 PM EDT
By Susan Cornwell
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Legislation expected to save U.S. companies more than $80 billion in pension contributions over two years was approved Thursday by the U.S. Congress and now goes to President Bush for his expected signature into law.
Final action came with approval by the Senate, 78 to 19. Several opponents were angry that pension plans that are sponsored by more than one employer, and are operated together with unions, had been given little help.
The measure had already passed the House of Representatives, and supporters were anxious to get it to the president's desk in time to give a break to companies that have to make quarterly pension payments on April 15.
Businesses lobbied hard for the bill, which would provide about $80 billion in pension accounting relief through the end of 2005 for some 31,000 companies with traditional "defined benefit" pension plans. These cover about 35 million workers.
Many traditional pension plans are underfunded and companies are struggling to keep up with the payments. The aid is intended as a temporary measure to help keep plans afloat while Congress works on longer-term pension reform.
But none of the assistance would come from the government; instead, it would come through replacing a formula for calculating pension contributions.
There would also be $1.6 billion in extra relief for a handful of steel companies and major U.S. commercial airlines, such as bankrupt United Airlines, a unit of UAL Corp
"This is the ultimate jobs bill," said Sen. Judd Gregg, a New Hampshire Republican. Without the measure, companies would be forced to take money they would have otherwise put into job creation and put it in their pension plans instead, he said.
Treasury Secretary John Snow commended Congress for the measure, saying it embraced Bush administration priorities by targeting relief to responsible pension plans while preserving the defined benefit pension system.
The White House also issued a statement calling the vote "a victory for millions of Americans who count on pensions for their retirement" and promising the president would promptly sign it into law.
But critics complained that an "anti-labor" White House had insisted on deleting most of the aid to plans sponsored by more than one employer, which cover mostly unionized workers in industries like trucking and construction.
Massachusetts Democrat Sen. Edward Kennedy said less than 4 percent of the 1,600 multi-employer plans now qualify for help. These plans cover over 9 million workers.
"President Bush should be embarrassed to sign this unfair and spiteful bill," Kennedy said. Fortune 500 companies were getting billions, while smaller businesses participating in regional plans covering unionized workers lost out, he said.
The Senate may get another chance to vote on aid for those plans, as leaders told Kennedy his proposal for helping them would be voted on as part of another bill to be taken up after the Senate returns from spring recess later this month.
The Big Three automakers had written to senators urging a "yes" vote on the pension bill, saying it would help them continue to offer pension benefits to employees. They also noted that the United Auto Workers supported the proposal.
The letter was signed by executives from DaimlerChrysler , Ford Motor Co. , and General Motors Corp. .
The steel aid in the bill would go to Ispat Inland Inc., a unit of London-based Ispat International N.V.; AK Steel Holding Corp (nyse: AKS - news - people). of Middletown, Ohio and iron ore company Cleveland-Cliffs .
Congressional aides said the most underfunded multi-employer plan, the Central States Teamsters Pension Plan, stood to benefit under the legislation. One of the plan's biggest contributors is United Parcel Service (Additional reporting by Ben Klayman in Chicago) |
