Pension Overhaul Bill Sent to President [View All]

[Omaha Steve]

Full story: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20060804/D8J9I9K80.html

Pension Overhaul Bill Sent to President
Email this Story

Aug 4, 6:42 AM (ET)

By JIM ABRAMS

WASHINGTON (AP) - Congress passed major pension legislation designed to assure American workers, including millions of baby boomers nearing the end of their working careers, that the pensions they have been promised will be there when they retire.

The Senate, in its last vote before adjourning for a four-week summer break, approved the 900-page bill that compels employers with defined-benefit pension plans to meet their funding obligations and seeks to prevent companies from terminating plans and shifting the financial burden to the taxpayer. The House passed the bill last week.

The 93-5 Senate vote late Thursday on the pension bill came shortly after the Senate fell four votes short of the 60 needed to advance a Republican-crafted package that combined an estate tax cut with a federal minimum wage increase.

Republican leaders, unsuccessful earlier this year in moving an estate tax cut through the Senate, tried to attract Democratic votes by linking it to a package of popular middle-class tax breaks and the offer to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour over three years.

Democrats, backed by unions pushing for what would be the first increase in the minimum wage in nine years, overwhelmingly rejected the deal.

Votes on the pension bill and the estate tax package became possible after leaders from the two parties agreed to put off until September final action on a spending bill for the military.

During three days of debate, senators increased the size of the defense package to almost $469 billion with the addition of $13 billion to supplement the $50 billion for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and $1.8 billion to build 370 miles of triple-layer fencing along the border with Mexico.

The pension bill now goes to President Bush for his expected signature and gives lawmakers returning to their states and districts a major achievement in an election-year session characterized more by partisan politics than legislative accomplishments.

"This bill is the most important action to safeguard the retirement of hardworking Americans in a generation," Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., said.