Pension Protection Act of 2006

PENSION PROTECTION ACT OF 2006 -- (Senate - August 03, 2006)

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, although I will support final passage of the long-awaited pension bill that aims to strengthen millions of workers' pensions, including those for airline workers, I want to express my concerns regarding one provision in particular. Similar to the Senate pension bill passed in October, this measure contains language that would provide financially troubled airlines more time to pay out their pension obligations and preserve their employees' pension plans. However, while the Senate-passed language was carefully crafted in such a way so as to not pick winners and losers between those airlines in bankruptcy that are freezing their defined benefit plans and those who have not entered bankruptcy and are intent on keeping their defined benefit plans, the House-passed language that we are soon to consider does pick winners and losers. The House measure gives those airlines that want to keep their defined benefit plans a much more unattractive interest rate than those airlines that freeze their plans. It is simply not fair to penalize those airlines that want to keep their pension plans.

It distresses me that those airlines that choose to keep their defined benefit plans will be punished and forced to compete on an uneven playing field. In June, concerned with the pensions of over 10,000 American Airlines' employees in my State and thousands of others across the Nation, I joined with Senator OBAMA and my fellow Senators from Oklahoma and Florida in sending a letter to the pension conferees reminding them of the importance of providing airline relief and treating all airlines equally. Unfortunately, this bill does not treat all airlines equally.

In talking to my colleagues in the Senate, I believe there is a general consensus that this differential should be corrected at the earliest possible legislative opportunity. If that assurance can be given by the Senate leaders on this pension legislation, I believe we should pass the House bill this week and work diligently to correct the inequity upon our return in September.

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