WASHINGTON, D.C. -- House GOP workforce committee leaders criticized Senate Democrats today for their continuing failure to consider bipartisan reforms that would protect worker pensions in the wake of the Enron collapse. With the support of 46 Democrats, the Republican-led House passed a worker pension protection bill 90 days ago that would give workers unprecedented new retirement security protections and would have helped to protect thousands of Enron employees who lost their savings during the company's collapse last year. In the ensuing three months, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle has refused to consider this bipartisan legislation.

     “President Bush is ready to sign a bill into law,” said Education & the Workforce Chairman John Boehner (R-OH). “How much longer will Senate Democrats make American workers wait for pension protections? How many more business scandals have to happen before Democrats act?”

     As today’s edition of The Hill notes, Senate Democrats have failed to act on the House measure -- or any other measure -- and are still fighting amongst themselves as to how to proceed. (“Democrats’ tiff stalls pension bill,” Bolton, July 10, 2002). In addition, Daschle told reporters yesterday that the Senate would wait on pension reform until at least September.

     “It has been 90 days since the House acted on pension reform and Senator Daschle made it clear back in February that pension reform was going to be a top priority. Clearly pension reform is not a Senate priority,” said Boehner. “The Senate’s continuing inaction on pension reform raises serious concerns about their commitment to protecting the retirement security of American workers.”

     “The collapse of Enron underscores the need for much tougher and more comprehensive legislation to protect the integrity of our retirement, investment, and tax systems,” Daschle said on February 1, 2002. “Senate Democrats will bring such legislation to the floor as soon as possible, and we look forward to working with the Administration and our Republican colleagues to pass it this year.”

     Despite this and other comments over the past few months about the urgency of the effort to protect worker retirement security, the Senate has failed to follow the House’s lead and respond quickly and decisively to restore worker confidence in the nation’s pension system.

     “Unfortunately, after much stalling and more rhetoric, the Senate only this week began considering corporate responsibility legislation and has failed to take action to protect worker pensions,” said Employer-Employee Relations Subcommittee Chairman Sam Johnson (R-TX). “It’s unconscionable that the Senate has failed to act. These boardroom bandits made hay while employee retirement accounts emptied. That’s just wrong.”

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