The Republican majority has adjusted some of the rules to run Congress by and changed some of the committee names that deal with pension law issues.
The House banned proxy voting in committees and cut committee staffs by one-third. The House also ruled that bills could only be referred to one committee at a time.
The Education and Labor Committee is now the Economic and Educational Opportunities Committee, and is chaired by Rep. William F. Goodling, R-Pa.; its subcommittee, formerly the Labor-Management Relations Subcommittee is now the Employer-Employee Relations Subcommittee, and is chaired by Rep. Harris Fawell, R-Ill.
The House Ways and Means Committee has retained its name, and is chaired by Rep. Bill Archer, R-Texas. Rep. Nancy L. Johnson, R-Conn., is the new chairwoman for the Oversight Subcommittee, which also kept its name.
The Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee, chaired by Kansas Sen. Nancy Kassebaum, will be the only labor committee to hear ERISA issues. Its subcommittees, the Labor Subcommittee and the Employment and Productivity Subcommittee, have been removed.
The Senate Finance Committee is chaired by Sen. Bob Packwood, R-Ore. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, will chair the new Subcommittee on Taxation and Internal Revenue Service Oversight. This subcommittee will take over the responsibilities of three terminated subcommittees: Energy and Agricultural Taxation, Private Retirement Plans and Oversight of the Internal Revenue Service, and Taxation. The subcommittee on Social Security and Family Policy is now headed by Sen. Alan K. Simpson, R-Wyo.
