S 547 · 117th Congress 2021–2023, ended

Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021

Introduced Mar 2, 2021 Originated Senate Sponsor Sherrod Brown D-OH

Fact sheet Spreadsheet

Latest action · Mar 2, 2021 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

  1. IntroducedMar 2, 2021
  2. Passed SenateNot reached
  3. Passed HouseNot reached
  4. To the PresidentNot reached
  5. Became lawNot reached

Summary

Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021

This bill modifies the funding rules and provides financial assistance for certain pension plans that are underfunded or insolvent.

First, the bill expands the authority of, and provides funding for, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to provide special partition assistance to a multiemployer pension plan that is insolvent or at risk of insolvency. The bill expands eligibility for partition assistance, provides funding for a plan to reach a projected funded ratio of 80% over a 30-year period, and does not require a plan to repay such assistance.

The bill further permits a multiemployer pension plan to elect to retain its funding zone status from the previous year for either (1) the first plan year beginning during the period from March 1, 2020, through February 28, 2021; or (2) the next succeeding plan year, as designated by the plan sponsor. A plan may also extend by five years the funding improvement or rehabilitation period if the plan is designated as in endangered or critical status for a plan year beginning in 2020 or 2021. A plan in critical and declining status may not suspend payment of plan benefits.

Additionally, the bill adjusts the minimum funding standards for a multiemployer pension plan to account for investment losses and other losses related to the COVID-19 pandemic and modifies the PBGC guarantee formula to increase the maximum potential benefits under a multiemployer pension plan.

Cosponsors 42

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 2, 2021 to Mar 3, 2021; 41 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.

SeatCosponsorSigned on
D-CAAlex PadillaOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-MNAmy KlobucharOriginalMar 2, 2021
I-MEAngus S. King Jr.OriginalMar 2, 2021
D-NMBen Ray LujánOriginalMar 2, 2021
I-VTBernard SandersOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-HIBrian SchatzOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-NVCatherine Cortez MastoOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-NYCharles E. SchumerOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-MDChris Van HollenOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-DEChristopher A. CoonsOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-NJCory A. BookerOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-MIDebbie StabenowOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-MAEdward J. MarkeyOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-MAElizabeth WarrenOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-MIGary C. PetersOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-RIJack ReedOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-NVJacky RosenOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-NHJeanne ShaheenOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-ORJeff MerkleyOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-WVJoe Manchin IIIOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-MTJon TesterOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-NYKirsten E. GillibrandOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-NHMargaret Wood HassanOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-WAMaria CantwellOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-VAMark R. WarnerOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-NMMartin HeinrichOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-HIMazie K. HironoOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-COMichael F. BennetOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-VTPatrick J. LeahyOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-WAPatty MurrayOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-GARaphael G. WarnockOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-CTRichard BlumenthalOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-ILRichard J. DurbinOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-NJRobert MenendezOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-PARobert P. Casey Jr.OriginalMar 2, 2021
D-ORRon WydenOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-RISheldon WhitehouseOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-WITammy BaldwinOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-ILTammy DuckworthOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-VATim KaineOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-MNTina SmithOriginalMar 2, 2021
D-MDBenjamin L. CardinMar 3, 2021

Committees 1

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

ChamberCommitteeWhat it did
SenateFinance Committee
Referred Mar 2, 2021

Actions 2

Everything that happened, newest first.

  1. Mar 2, 2021Introduced in Senate
  2. Mar 2, 2021Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Related bills 2

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

BillTitleRelationshipLatest action
HR 409Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021Related billJan 21, 2021
HR 423Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021Related billJan 21, 2021

Titles 2

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced
A bill to provide relief for multiemployer and single employer pension plans, and for other purposes.
Short Title(s) as Introduced
Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Labor and Employment.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

  1. Mar 2, 2021Introduced in Senate

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Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.