I am taking the liberty of
forwarding this message to our entire ORD email list.This is a response from Congresswoman Melissa Bean to Lou
Rabe and as Lou notes, it is not an autoreply.Bean's response indicates we are making inroads with our
message to Congress.Keep
hammering away.Bean's email
address is below.Encourage her to
pursue the technical correction to H.R.4 prohibiting lump sum payments from
under funded plans now instead of 2010.Some of our representatives and senators are beginning to realize that
Delta was given 17 years to fund its pension plans but still wants to dump the
pilots plan on the PBGC.They seem
to be a bit ticked about this.You
don't have to be in her district to let her hear your voice.You can call, write or email any
senator or representative regardless of district or state.Remind Durbin, Obama, Bean, Isaakson,
Kennedy, Manzullo, Biggert(IL rep), and other key people listed in previous
emails from Will Buergey and Wendell Lewis that the PBGC is already in
financial trouble and the taxpayer is next in line to pick up the tab.H.R.4 gave Delta a break in preserving
pension plans but Delta is undermining the intent of the bill by attempting to
terminate the pilots pension plan.
Thank you for contacting me
about the pensions of Delta Airlines pilots. I am honored to represent you, and
I appreciate your active participation in our legislative process.Your involvement makes democracy work
better by helping me more effectively represent you and Illinois' Eighth
District.
In response to the growing
concern over the security of Americans' retirement, both the House of
Representatives and the Senate passed bills to strengthen the federal laws that
govern American corporate pensions. In November 2005, the Senate passed S.1783,
The Pension Security and Transparency Act of 2005, by a margin of 97 to 2. In
December 2005, I joined many of my colleagues in the House in passing H.R.
2830, The Pension Reform Act of 2005, by a margin of 294 to 132.
In July 2006, the House of
Representatives passed H.R. 4, The Pension Reform Act of 2006, with my support
by a margin of 279 to 131, which was subsequently passed by the Senate 95 to 3.
This bill consists of the compromise language reconciled from the differences
between S.1783 and H.R. 2830.
Among other improvements to
pension law, H.R. 4 will allows airlines-including Delta-who have closed their
plans to new participants but do not allow current participants to accrue
additional benefits 17 years to fund its pension liability. By and large, this
scenario is far more lenient than the seven years non-airline pension plan
sponsors have to meet their funding liability shortfalls.
Unfortunately, as you know,
despite the incentives Congress included in H.R. 4 to protect airline pensions,
Delta recently announced it plans to turnover its pilots' pension plans to the
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). Currently, Congress is considering
a technical correction to H.R. 4. One of the changes being considered would
alter the treatment of lump sum payouts for pension plans that are under
funded. Please know that as Congress considers this technical correction
package, I will be sure to keep your thoughts in mind.
Thank you again for
contacting me about this important issue. I am proud to serve Illinois' Eighth
District, and I am committed to working hard for you. Please do not hesitate to
write, call, or email if I can ever help you in any way.
Sincerely,
Melissa L. Bean
Member of Congress
P.S. To stay informed on this
and other important topics, visit my website at www.house.gov/bean to subscribe
to e-news updates.
Two Letters from Retired Captain Chuck Roedema to Congress
To Remove Section titled
(c) Effective Dates— (page 97).
Dear
Senator John Cornyn,
An
injustice has been done to one group of individuals in H. R. 4, the 2006
Pension Reform Bill, the retired pilots of Delta Air Lines. The effective date
at the end of Section 103 of either (1) January 1, 2010, or (2) the termination
date of the collective bargaining agreement, instead of invoking the date the
Bill was signed, is causing the termination of the pensions of Delta Air Lines
retired pilots. An immediate technical correction to the Bill could possibly
correct this injustice.
There
are 5800 senior citizens, retired pilots from Delta Air Lines, who, through a
discriminatory process, had their pensions taken away in Bankruptcy Court. The
majority of these 5800 men and women at one time were members of the U. S.
military, and many served in combat in Korea, Southeast Asia/Vietnam, and in
the Middle East against enemies that were foreign.
Today, the enemy of these retirees is
their former employer, Delta Air Lines, who decided to single out only the
retired pilots, the Justice Department through the bankruptcy Court, and the U.
S. Congress, who passed a Pension Reform Bill with a stipulation that cost them
their hard-earned pensions. This stipulation will be explained later.
The
Bill passed in Congress and signed by the President allows a suspension of Lump
Sum payments if the Pension Fund is less than 60% funded (see Section 103, page
82,
(3) Limitations On Accelerated Benefit Distributions).
Deltas plan is only funded at 39%. Except, someone added a stipulation to the
end of Section 103, just prior to Section 104, on page 97 (Effective Dates)
that, instead of making this effective immediately, delays it until possibly
January 1, 2010. This one stipulation seems to be in place for no one else
except Delta Air Lines.
I
urge you to join your colleagues in Congress and make the Technical
Correction to the Pension Reform Bill and remove this discriminatory
exception, thus making the Lump Sum suspension available immediately. After
all, the Pension Reform Bill that passed both Houses of Congress and was signed
by the President, states on the Title Page, A Bill to provide economic
security for ALL Americans. Please count us 5800 amongst those Americans.
This change will save our pension plan. Thank you.
Subject:
Technical Correction Requested To H. R. 4 (2006 Pension Reform Bill), Section
103, (c) Effective Dates—(page 97).
Dear
Congressman Sam Johnson,
Under
the 2006 Pension Reform Bill, Lump Sum distributions are restricted or
prohibited when a pension plan is critically under funded. These restrictions
are phased-in (effective date is the later of January 1, 2010, or the
expiration date of the existing collectively bargaining agreement).
I
respectfully request that you sponsor or support an immediate technical
correction to the 2006 Pension Reform Bill that could possibly resolve this
problem and save the Delta Air Lines pilot's pension plan.
The
technical correction would merely be to make the restrictions on Lump Sum distributions
effective immediately. The 2006 Pension Reform Bill specifically
identifies Delta and provides for a 17-year amortization of under funded
pension plan liabilities. Because Delta is identified for favorable treatment
under the legislation, a technical correction is appropriate.
The Title Page of the Pension Reform Bill states, A
Bill to provide economic security for ALL Americans. The vast majority of the 5800 retired Delta pilots
dedicated a portion of their lives to service in U. S. military forces. Many
served in combat in Korea and Vietnam. Please remember us and support the
technical correction that could save our pension plan. Thank you.
