<nobr>Mar 23, 2006</nobr>

Voinovich-Levin Letter Submitted to Pension Conferees; Other Letters Being Circulated

Senators Carl Levin (D-MI) and George Voinovich (R-OH) submitted a letter, March 23, to the House-Senate conferees on the pension reform bills (H.R.2830/S.1783) with a total of 33 senators signing onto the letter. The letter urges conferees to drop language that would use corporate credit ratings to classify plans as at-risk and to provide for at least three years of averaging and smoothing, as in the House bill.

In essence, the letter urges that in these two areas conferees follow the House-passed bill rather than the bill that passed the Senate. This will bolster House conferees that want to retain these House positions going forward. The final letter included seven Republicans, two members of the Senate Finance Committee, and four members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. ERIC members are urged to continue to seek more signatures for the letter, as it will be resent if additional signatures are secured.

Burr Letter on Hybrids: Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) is seeking only Republican signatures from members of both the House and the Senate for a letter that addresses several issues of concern to ERIC members with hybrid plans, including design clarification for existing plans, inclusion of pension equity plans, and opposition to plan design requirements in the Senate bill.

English Letter on Transition: Rep. Phil English (R-PA) is seeking additional signatures for his letter to conferees that urges the final bill include an adequate transition period for funding requirements. The letter urges that the rules for the yield curve be given adequate time for public comment and not take effect until after 2007 with the 2005 rules remaining in place until that time. The letter also urges that changes to funding obligations “should be phased in gradually for all plans over at least a period of five years.”

Voinovich-Levin letter signatures:
Levin (D-MI), Voinovich (R-OH), Bayh (D-IN), Biden (D-DE), Boxer (D-CA), Burr (R-NC), Cantwell (D-WA), Carper (D-DE), Chafee (R-RI), Clinton (D-NY), Cochran (R-MS), Coleman (R-MN), Collins (R-ME), Dayton (D-MN), Dodd (D-CT), Dorgan (D-ND), Durbin (D-IL), Feingold (D-WI), Johnson (D-SD), Kerry, (D-MA), Kohl (D-WI), Lieberman (D-CT), Menendez (D-NJ), Murray (D-WA), Ben Nelson (D-NE), Obama (D-CT), Pryor (D-AR), Reed (D-RI), Salazar (D-CO), Sarbanes (D-MD), Schumer (D-NY), Stabenow (D-MI), and Warner (R-VA).

Websites:

Voinovich-Levin Letter

Burr Letter

English Letter

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