S. 2919 – Reading Mode

109th CONGRESS

2d Session

S. 2919

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

May 22, 2006

Mr. Baucus (for himself and Mr. Grassley) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

A BILL

To amend title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to establish a Director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase certain penalties, and for other purposes.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the PBGC Confirmation Act of 2006.

Director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

(a)

In general

Title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) is amended—

(1)

by striking the second sentence of section 4002(a) and inserting the following: In carrying out its functions under this title, the corporation shall be administered by a Director, who shall be appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and who shall act in accordance with the policies established by the board.; and

(2)

in section 4003(b), by—

(A)

striking under this title, any member and inserting under this title, the Director, any member; and

(B)

striking designated by the chairman and inserting designated by the Director or chairman.

(b)

Compensation of Director

Section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

(c)

Jurisdiction of nomination

(1)

In general

The Committee on Finance of the Senate and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate shall have joint jurisdiction over the nomination of a person nominated by the President to fill the position of Director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation under section 4002 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1302) (as amended by this Act), and if one committee votes to order reported such a nomination, the other shall report within 30 calendar days, or be automatically discharged.

(2)

Rulemaking of the Senate

This subsection is enacted by Congress—

(A)

as an exercise of rulemaking power of the Senate, and as such it is deemed a part of the rules of the Senate, but applicable only with respect to the procedure to be followed in the Senate in the case of a nomination described in such sentence, and it supersedes other rules only to the extent that it is inconsistent with such rules; and

(B)

with full recognition of the constitutional right of the Senate to change the rules (so far as relating the procedure of the Senate) at any time, in the same manner and to the same extent as in the case of any other rule of the Senate.

(d)

Transition

The term of the individual serving as Executive Director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation on the date of enactment of this Act shall expire on such date of enactment. Such individual, or any other individual, may serve as interim Director of such Corporation until an individual is appointed as Director of such Corporation under section 4002 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1302) (as amended by this Act).

Penalty for failure to file an actuarial report

Section 6692 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following: Beginning with plan years beginning in 2005, in the case of a plan to which section 412(l) applied for a plan year, there shall be assessed, in lieu of the penalty in the preceding sentence, a tax equal to 0.1 percent of the plan's unfunded current liability under section 412(l)(8)(A) for the plan year to which the report relates, but in no case less than $1,000 or more than $5,000..