Senator Santorum Announces Passage of his Legislation to Strengthen Pensions for Hard-Working Pennsylvanians
U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA), Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, today applauded his Senate colleagues for passing S. 1783, the Pension Security and Transparency Act of 2005, bipartisan legislation which contains provisions included in his previously introduced legislation, S. 1825, the Multi-Employer Plan Funding and Deduction Reform Act of 2005.
"I am pleased that my colleagues have accepted most of my proposed changes, and I remain committed to strengthening pensions to better protect the retirement security of hard-working Americans. One of the key concepts underlying both the Pension Security and Transparency Act of 2005 and my legislation is the need to provide an early warning system for multi-employer plans that are in financial difficulty. Too often under current law, we don't know the economic condition of these plans until they are facing extreme financial problems, and by then it is too late, the plans are beyond repair," said Senator Santorum.
To address the need for comprehensive multi-employer reform, Senator Santorum has been working with the Multiemployer Pension Plan Coalition - a broad based coalition composed of numerous employers, unions, and associations from a cross-section of industries - to find a solution that is agreeable to both management and labor and will ensure the long-term viability and security of multi-employer plans. In particular, the input of the Pennsylvania members of this coalition, including the Teamsters and Building and Construction Trades, was essential in helping to achieve a sound solution. Senator Santorum is proud to represent these hard-working Pennsylvanians as their United States Senator.
"The need for reform is clear. In an unfortunate trend, employers have dumped their pensions on the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), leaving employees with a mere fraction of their promised benefits, and many other employers have moved to end their defined benefit pension plans as the cost of maintaining these plans has become increasingly expensive. This trend has been met with understandable anger and disappointment on the part of the hard-working Americans adversely impacted - too often I have heard these frustrations first hand from my constituents. Pension promises are more than just expectations, they are valued commitments made to employees," said Senator Santorum.
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