The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions unanimously passed Chairman Judd Gregg’s (R-NH) bipartisan pension proposal. Main components of the bill which is called the “Pension Stability Act” are as follows:
- Three-Year Fix: replaces the 30-year Treasury bond rate for a period of three years with a corporate bond rate based on “conservative indexes.”
- Bi-Partisan Blue Ribbon Commission Appointed: Creates a commission to review all outstanding issues with a report to Congress in 2005.
You can read Senator Gregg’s press release here.
The Wall Street Journal reports: “Senate Panel Approves Bill: To Reform Pension Funding.” (Subscription required.)
Also, Reuters reports: “Senate Panel Backs Stopgap Pension Fix.” The article notes that the Senate Finance Committee measure sponsored by Senator Charles Grassley was approved earlier this year and would provide a transition to a permanent pension funding formula known as a yield curve. According to the article, “Senator Grassley will continue to work with Senator Gregg on a pension fix, but Senator Grassley feels that a permanent fix is the right way to go,” his spokeswoman said. “A three-year fix, he fears, would just become an extender.”