Tom Price: “the airline pension crisis has proven that the skies are not so friendly for many airline employees getting ready to…”

“the airline pension crisis has proven that the skies are not so friendly for many airline employees getting ready to retire. Retirement plans that included dreams prepared for over a lifetime are now replaced with just trying to make ends meet. An airline dumping their pension plan is not a solution. This jeopardizes the retirement for thousands and maybe millions of hard-working Americans and increases the burden on our government and taxpayers. Over the past 2 years, the PBGC and the American taxpayers have assumed close to $10 billion in unfunded pension liabilities, $10 billion. Is this a winning formula? I do not think so. Just ask over 100,000 United employees having to plan for a future that looks much cloudier today. H.R. 2106 allows airline carriers to adopt new funding rules for their defined pension benefit systems. This plan, a solution, requires airline carriers to meet their obligations and decreases the need for a taxpayer bailout. Madam Speaker, this is a solution that could not come at a better time. This legislation is a win-win-win solution, for the airlines, for airline employees, and most importantly, for the American taxpayer. ____________________”