| ATA Hails House Passage of Pension Protection
Legislation |
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| From the RD
News Desk |
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Alexandria,
VA -- American Trucking Associations today hailed House passage of
comprehensive pension-reform legislation designed to improve the
solvency of single, multi-employer and so-called hybrid pension plans. |
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“This was a bipartisan effort reflecting
compromises between labor and management,” ATA President and CEO Bill
Graves said. “Many industries, including trucking, have been concerned
with the pension issue for some time and its passage provides a measure
of certainty that is greatly appreciated by the business community.” |
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The Pension Protection Act of 2005 was designed to revamp traditional
pension plans and prevent a taxpayer bailout of the Pension Benefit
Guaranty Corp. The House bill must be reconciled with the Senate
pension-reform legislation that passed in November. PBGC, the
self-financed federal agency that insures pension plans for 44 million
workers, reportedly has deficits of $22.8 billion. Single employer
participants have dropped to less than 30,000 from 95,000 in 1980 as
companies drop or replace defined-benefit plans.
The legislation provides for an early warning system to identify pension
plans that are facing financial problems. Additional tools are also
provided for that will allow plan trustees to address financial problems
before they become unmanageable. It also requires additional disclosure
information to plan participants and contributing employers to help
improve the funding performance of the plans. |
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The House pension bill will help companies fund their pension
liabilities and includes more than two dozen proposals involving IRAs,
defined pension benefits and 401K retirement plans.
ATA President and CEO Bill Graves thanked Education and Workforce
Chairman John Boehner (R-OH) and Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas
(R-CA) for their leadership in passing H.R. 2830. “This particular
bill has traveled a difficult road in reaching final passage and would
not have done that without Chairman Boehner and Chairman Thomas. They responded to a pressing need and helped push this vital legislation
across the finish line.” |
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The American Trucking Associations is the largest national trade
association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of other
trucking groups, industry-related conferences, and its fifty affiliated
state trucking associations, ATA represents more than 37,000 members
covering every type of motor carrier in the United States. |
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| Report Source: |
| http://www.truckline.com/NR/exeres/104BF65D-6CEE-4885-AB3C-E7C4D03F44B9.htm |
