Barbara Mikulski: “I note that the next Democratic speaker after me will be Senator Harkin, and the next Democratic speaker after Senator…”

“I note that the next Democratic speaker after me will be Senator Harkin, and the next Democratic speaker after Senator Harkin will be Senator Schumer. We are now in the final days and hours of this session of Congress. One of the bills that is circling, waiting for a place to land is the pension bill. We now know the pension bill has been passed by the House, and it is waiting to be taken up in the Senate, but we don't know when it is going to be taken up. It all depends on what we do about the estate tax. The pension bill--the bipartisan pension bill--must not become a pawn in the debate over other unrelated issues. This bill needs to pass, and it needs to pass this week. There is only one reason it is being held up: politics, politics, politics. The pension bill is being used as a pawn for reckless tax breaks for a few when the pension bill will help the many. We need to move this pension bill. I urge the Republican leadership to bring up the bill this week and to bring it up before any tax bill. The American people need it. We need to protect the pensions of millions of Americans, we need to provide relief and certainty to good-guy businesses, and we need to protect the taxpayers from having billions of dollars dumped on the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation. Promises made should be promises kept. America's pension system is in crisis. There are companies that are declaring bankruptcy and then dumping their pension plans on the taxpayers.…”