Johnny Isakson: “today I join with Senator Rockefeller to introduce the Employee Pension Preservation Act of 2005. This bill seeks to…”

“today I join with Senator Rockefeller to introduce the Employee Pension Preservation Act of 2005. This bill seeks to eliminate the threat that airline employees are facing to their earned pensions as a result of funding laws that make pension funding schedule volatile and unpredictable. The Employee Pension Preservation Act of 2005 would allow their employers to make the required pension payments in a more predictable and manageable way. This common sense, industry specific approach is supported by airline employees and their employers. We are giving airlines the ability to fund their pension obligations to their employees on a more manageable and stabilized 25-year schedule using stable long-term assumptions. It is analogous to refinancing a short-term adjustable rate mortgage to a more predictable long-term fixed rate mortgage. It protects the interests of the American taxpayer by capping the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation's liabilities at current levels, and ensures that a uniform evenhanded policy is taken with respect to the entire industry. Finally, this must be a joint decision made by the airline and its employees. We are establishing a payment schedule for unfunded liabilities that is both affordable and practical, while properly protecting the interests of airline employees, airlines, and the American taxpayer.…”