Thomas Daschle: “I am very hopeful we can complete our work on the pension bill at an early date. I think it is a bill that merits broad…”

“I am very hopeful we can complete our work on the pension bill at an early date. I think it is a bill that merits broad bipartisan support... We have--it is an overused word but certainly a word applicable here--a crisis with regard to pensions and retirement security, both in multiemployer plans as well as single-employer plans. That crisis will not be satisfactorily or successfully confronted until we take several steps. This is only meant to be an interim step, but it is an important step. It is a temporary step that will allow us some stability and confidence that we can address this issue more effectively in the months and years ahead. Secondly, with regard to schedule, it is important for us to recognize the narrow window of opportunity we have to deal with the highway bill. We have already lost valuable time. We should have done this bill last year. Not only have we lost 90,000 jobs as a result of our failure to pass the bill last fall, we have also threatened the contract season this year by our inability to move this legislation more expeditiously.”