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Boehner's
Election Seen as Boosting Pension Reform
By Susan Cornwell,
The Kindred Times
February 21, 2006
Pension reform will remain a priority for newly elected House Majority Leader John Boehner, and his promotion makes pension legislation more likely this year, aides and analysts said on Thursday.
Boehner, an Ohio Republican, won an upset victory on Thursday to take the No. 2 leadership post in the U.S. House of Representatives.
His most notable recent accomplishment was getting House passage of a massive bill aimed at improving the financial health of traditional pensions in the United States.
As co-sponsor of the House legislation and chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee, Boehner was expected to be part of a conference committee that must work out differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill.
Boehner spokesman Kevin Smith said there was ample precedent for members of the House leadership to serve on conference committees "and Boehner expected to play a big role in the pension conference."
"Pension reform is a big priority and today's events don't change that," Smith added.
House members of the conference committee are expected to be named within the next two weeks by Speaker Dennis Hastert, an Illinois Republican.
Earlier this week, Boehner told reporters that no matter what happened in the House leadership election, pension reform had to be finished by the time companies were required to make more contributions to their pension plans this spring.
"We're going to have a pension bill regardless," Boehner said. "It's important that we protect pensions earned by the American people."
A co-sponsor of the Senate pension bill, Senate Finance Committee Ch, , ), said Boehner had helped to "elevate" the public profile of pension issues. "I look forward to continuing to work with him toward ensuring more solid pension funding for American workers," Grassley, an Iowa Republican, said.
Boehner's bill, which passed the House in December, overhauled funding rules for employer-provided pensions, a fading feature of old-economy companies. It also raised the premiums companies pay to the federal agency that insures those pensions, held by 44 million workers and retirees.
A similar bill has passed the Senate, but it also included special aid for airlines, which is not in the House bill.
The White House has warned both chambers it wants a bill with stricter pension funding rules, or it might veto it.
Boehner says he seeks to walk a fine line between those who want "suffocating" pension rules and those favoring the status quo, which has led to huge pension
underfunding. Analysts said pension reform had become a signature issue for Boehner and they did not expect that to change.
"I would think his election increases the likelihood of a pension bill this year," said Doug Elliott, who runs the Center on Federal Financial Institutions, a Washington think tank.
"It already seemed highly likely. It now seems a near certainty," Elliott said.
Employer groups said they were pleased with Boehner's elevation to the leadership.
"He feels strongly about rules that do not result in companies feeling forced out of the system," said Lynn Dudley of the American Benefits Council.
http://www.localnewsleader.com/kindred/stories/index.php?action=fullnews&id=147158
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