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Week Ending August 4, 2006

 

HR 4 To provide economic security for all Americans, and for other purposes. Pension Protection Act of 2006'.

This bill is the result of previous bills the House passed earlier to deal with the recent dumping of pension plan benefit payments by several major corporations who exercised a loophole allowing them to under fund the pension programs. Eventually the benefits due for payment overwhelmed the pension funds resources. Such cases justify the need for the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation that has the responsibility of managing the administration of private pension funds by setting the rates of premiums paid to the Fund, in particular.

 

This bill would raise the premium requirements, the amount or percentage of money that must be available at all time in the funds and increases fines for companies that fail to make the minimum payments to their employee’s pension funds. For some at-risk plans the necessary money on hand to pay benefits would be required to meet 65% of the payouts in 2008, 70% in 2009 and 75% in 2010. Those rates, however, would not apply to automakers and automobile part makers plans.

 

Pension plan premiums would be paid quarterly and each payment will be 25% of the yearly premium totals.

 

Pension benefit reform is not all that is contained in the bill. HR 4 moves to do other business oriented things such as, temporarily or otherwise, suspending or reducing tariffs on knit gloves designed for auto mechanics, microphones for automotive interiors, acrylic or modacrylic synthetic filament, staple fibers that are carded, combed or otherwise processed for spinning, camel hair, pepperoncini preserved without vinegar or ascetic acid, some transaxles, certain cosmetic bags, toy cases, aspirin, stoppers, lids and closures, rubber and leather basketballs, volleyballs, certain music boxes, certain open-towed footwear, and hundreds of chemicals.

 

Duties on wool products and the wool research fund would be extended and repairs or installations of equipment on a US ship while at sea would be exempt from duties when entering the US if the work was done at see by the ships crew.

 

Sponsor: Rep. Dennis J. Hastert (R-IL-14th)

Vote: Passed House 279 to 131 with 1 voting ‘Present’. July 28, 2006 (RC 422) A Motion to Recommit the bill failed 189 to 222 July 28, 2006 (RC 421).  Passed Senate August 2, 2006 93 to 5 (RV 230)

Cost to the taxpayers: "CBO and JCT estimate that H.R. 4 would not significantly affect spending or
revenues in 2006. For some budget enforcement procedures, the relevant budget periods are 2006-2010 and 2006-2015. Therefore, we are providing those summarized totals as well. CBO estimates that enacting this legislation would reduce direct spending by $1.093 billion over the 2006-2010 period and by $5.610 billion over the 2006-2015 period. The act would decrease revenues for those periods by $2.068 billion and $57.248 billion, respectively."

 

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