The PBGC-bailout pension bill is unlikely to come up for a vote in the U.S. House before Congress adjourns for the year, a spokeswoman for House Majority Leader Roy Blunt, (R-Mo.) confirmed. Instead, sources said they expect the House won't consider the bill until next spring, forcing corporations to wait until the last minute before they can calculate contributions to their pension plans. The next deadline for contributions to corporate pension plans is April 15, 2006.
After the House passes its version of the broad pension legislation, the bill will have to be reconciled with the version passed by the Senate on Nov. 16, and negotiations could be long and arduous because of the vast differences in the two bills, sources said.