Battle for H.R. 4844 benefits
to continue in 107th Congress

Hope remained for passage of the Railroad Retirement and Survivors’ Improvement Act of 2000 (H.R. 4844) right up to the final session of the 106th Congress, when the House and Senate approved a $450-billion spending package that provided funding for Medicare, health research, and to hire teachers, but didn’t include the provisions of the rail pension measure or aid to Amtrak.

"It was a long shot," said UTU National Legislative Director James M. Brunkenhoefer, "but up until the last minute, we still had a 100-to-1 chance of getting this legislation included with the other items handled in the lame duck session. Despite the odds, we had enough support that we never stopped trying."

The 106th Congress was one of the longest on record, concluding 10 weeks behind schedule on Friday, December 15, 2000. It was the latest both chambers have worked at the end of a Congress since the 97th Congress adjourned on December 12, 1982, and a flicker of life remained in H.R. 4844 until the end.

"It is important to note that we are not giving up on attaining these improvements to our Railroad Retirement System," Brunkenhoefer said. "This time, we hope the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLE) and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes (BMWE) will not delay this package. It was delay that allowed a handful of Republican senators to use the rules to defeat H.R. 4844."

The 107th Congress begins on January 3, 2001, and will feature a Senate split evenly between the two parties and a closely divided House. Just 17 days later, Republican George W. Bush will inherit Clinton’s job and face the political reality that he will need Democratic cooperation to achieve anything.

"The passage of the Railroad Retirement reform package remains the top priority of our UTU Legislative agenda," said UTU International President Charles L. Little. "We are already planning our cooperative efforts with labor and management representatives to have a new Railroad Retirement reform package introduced in Congress in January and aggressively pursue its passage. We look forward to President Bush signing this bill early next year."

Brunkenhoefer praised the cooperative action of active and retired UTU members, whose calls and letters to lawmakers played a major role in the nearly successful effort to reform the rail pension system, and he emphasized the importance of the Transportation Political Education League (TPEL) in the effort.

"Because of your efforts, your union now has more respect than any time in its history, from both its friends and its enemies," Brunkenhoefer noted. "I can assure you, our TPEL program did as much to get this legislation this far as anybody’s effort."

Underscoring the intention to pursue the issue, Brunkenhoefer urged members who haven’t contributed to TPEL to do so, and asked those who have been loyal supporters to consider increasing their level of participation. "Being strong is good; being powerful is better," Brunkenhoefer said. "Today we are strong; tomorrow we need to be more powerful."

"We will have no time constraints in the next Congress," said Assistant national Legislative Director James A. Stem. "We have worked hard to lay the groundwork for passage. The overwhelming support of our members, the rail industry, and a large majority of members of both Houses of Congress for HR 4844 has kept momentum for this concept alive. We are eager to continue this struggle with our active participation in the Rail Labor –Management Coalition."

H.R. 4844 had its genesis in late 1999, when UTU International President Charles L. Little and Assistant President Byron A. Boyd, Jr., in cooperation with a coalition representing retirees and rail labor organizations, along with freight rail carriers represented by the National Railway Labor Conference (NRLC), negotiated proposed amendments to the Railroad Retirement Act that would have significantly benefited railroad retirees.

The measure would have expanded widow(er)s’ benefits; liberalized vesting for all employees; delivered unreduced retirement benefits at age 60 with 30 years of service; repealed caps on Railroad Retirement benefits paid to employees and their spouses; and reduced the employer tax rate. The package also included a guarantee that the railroads would ensure the future solvency of the fund by absorbing any necessary future tax increases.

Subject to enactment of the legislative changes, the parties also agreed to expand health benefits for retirees under the nationally negotiated early retirement medical plan.

The legislation would have established a board to invest Railroad Retirement trust fund assets like other large pension plans to produce higher returns for the system and its beneficiaries.

In January 2000, the UTU Legislative Department in Washington, D.C., was given the outline of the agreement negotiated by labor and management, along with guarantees from International President Little and Assistant President Boyd that any assistance needed to turn the agreement into legislation and get it passed in the 106th Congress would be available upon request.

Early in the year, the BMWE and the BLE, both of which had been part of the negotiating process, "jumped ship," according to Brunkenhoefer, fomenting opposition to the package and creating damaging delays, which hindered its smooth passage through Congress.

Ultimately, the BLE went from opposing the measure to supporting it. The BMWE dropped its opposition, but withheld its support and remained neutral.

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