Regarding negotiations to reconcile a Senate pension funding bill passed last week (as discussed here) with the House version (discussed here and here), Forbes.com is reporting: “U.S. pension bill on ice as parties haggle.” According to the article, “Democrats have refused to start talks to reconcile the Senate bill with a version that had already passed the House of Representatives, until they are assured of full participation in the negotiating sessions.” The article further notes that Democrats are complaining that “the majority Republicans excluded some of their members from House-Senate negotiations on major bills last year.”
The Committee on Education and the Workforce has issued a press release addressing the dispute: “Boehner, Johnson Blast Daschle for Holding Defined Benefit Pension Reform Hostage.” Quote from the press release:
“All traditional pension plans in America have been under siege because of low interest rates and the one thing that Congress could do to help plans is to replace the defunct 30-year Treasury bond rate with a more appropriate interest rate,” said Johnson. “The House has passed a clean bill but Senator Daschle is holding the pension bill hostage.”
Finally, the Wall Street Journal reports as well: “Partisanship Flares In US Congress 30-Year Bond Debate.” The article also notes the reason for the dispute:
“Democrats were shut out of talks on energy legislation, and left out of final negotiations on an enormous end-of-year spending bill in December. And only two Democrats were allowed in the closed-door sessions used to write the $520 billion Medicare plan enacted last fall.”
As some of you may recall, pension legislation was at the center of some Capitol Hill acrimony last summer.