Haley Stevens: “a year ago I raised the issue of the problem of the small timber industry in Alaska, and we had an amendment to be…”

“a year ago I raised the issue of the problem of the small timber industry in Alaska, and we had an amendment to be offered to the tax bill. I was asked not to proceed then, and I received a commitment that this amendment would be included in the next tax bill as a technical correction. We thought it was going to be in this year again, and I discovered it is not in the bill. What this bill does, it deals with the problem created in the timber industry in southeastern Alaska when a series of companies failed and they left a situation where the pension plan is supported only by the surviving companies. These companies have the obligation to pay the pensions of those who retired from other companies that failed, prior to their demise, but they found they cannot do that and survive unless the time within which the payments are to be made is extended. That will be the purpose of this bill. The purpose of this bill is to extend the time so that the surviving companies can pay not only their own employer contribution for their own employees but for the employees of the companies that failed. I have been told today that this bill affects 600 to 1,000 jobs in southeastern Alaska now and up to 2,000 employees who already retired. Unless the time is extended, the surviving companies will fail and the existing employees will lose their jobs and those who have already retired will not get their pensions.”