Political Quotes

“this is not a perfect bill. No 900-page bill could be. But it will push companies to stay true to the promises of retirement security that they have made to their employees. We have seen too many people hurt at companies that have gone through bankruptcy and dumped their pensions on the PBGC. We have also seen companies like Enron that misled their workers into putting all their retirement savings into employer stock. This bill takes steps to reduce the incentives and capacity for firms to take either of those courses of action. But as I said, the bill is not perfect. Among the areas that could have used additional work is the disparate treatment among competitors contained in the airline relief portion of the bill. The Senate-passed bill contained comparable relief for all airlines in an effort to keep from distorting the marketplace against or in favor of any one or two airlines. That was the correct approach. The House-passed bill treats different airlines differently and will distort the market in a way that is unnecessary and unfair to the 10,000 American Airlines workers and retirees in Illinois. Both as a matter of retirement policy and aviation policy, this bill should not favor one airline over another, and I join my colleagues who are calling for parity or near parity in treatment.”