II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2794 

To ensure the equitable provision of pension and medical benefits to 

Department of Energy contractor employees. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 11, 2006 

Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. REID, Mr. BAUCUS, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. 

HARKIN, Ms. MIKULSKI, and Ms. CANTWELL) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 

Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To ensure the equitable provision of pension and medical 

benefits to Department of Energy contractor employees. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Department of Energy 

5 Contractor Employee Equitable Treatment Act of 2006’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) employment-based pension and medical ben2 efits are critical elements to the retirement security 

3 and state of health of working Americans; 

4 (2) the Department of Energy, through the 

5 guidance of the Department of Energy relating to 

6 contractor employee pension and medical benefits 

7 policy (Notice DOE N 351.1 (April 27, 2006)) (re8 ferred to in this Act as ‘‘Notice DOE N 351.1’’), in9 dicated the intent of the Department to cease fund10 ing for future defined benefit pension benefits and to 

11 reduce the medical benefits for contractor employees; 

12 (3) those policies attack the retirement security 

13 and medical benefits of energy workers and workers 

14 employed in the defense of the United States, includ15 ing in the manufacturing and testing of nuclear 

16 weapons; 

17 (4) those policies also undermine the ability of 

18 employers to provide appropriate and adequate re19 tirement and medical benefits; 

20 (5) defined benefit pension plans have a dem21 onstrated ability to provide secure retirement bene22 fits that furnish steady lifetime retiree income with 

23 protection for surviving spouses; 

24 (6) market-based medical benefit plans encour25 age employers to shift rising health care costs onto 


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1 employees, particularly less healthy employees, low2 ering employee compensation and leading to poorer 

3 health outcomes without addressing the underlying 

4 problem of skyrocketing health care costs; and 

5 (7) the Federal Government should foster em6 ployment policies that provide adequate retirement, 

7 health, and other employment benefits to the Fed8 eral and contractor workforce. 

9 SEC. 3. GUIDANCE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY RE10 LATING TO CONTRACTOR EMPLOYEE PEN11 SION AND MEDICAL BENEFITS POLICY. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—No funds made available before, 

13 on, or after the date of enactment of this Act shall be 

14 expended to implement, administer, or enforce the guid15 ance of the Department of Energy relating to contractor 

16 employee pension and medical benefits policy (Notice DOE 

17 N 351.1 (April 27, 2006)) (and any successor guidance), 

18 or any of the practices described in the guidance. 

19 (b) WITHDRAWAL.—Not later than 1 day after the 

20 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy 

21 shall withdraw the guidance described in subsection (a). 

22 (c) REINSTATEMENT OF ELIGIBILITY FOR BENEFITS

23 OR BENEFIT REIMBURSEMENT.—If the Secretary has car24 ried out Notice DOE N 351.1 (and any successor guid25 ance) before the date of enactment of this Act, the SecVerDate Aug 31 2005 20:01 May 13, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2794.IS S2794

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1 retary shall reinstate eligibility for benefits or reinstate re2 imbursement for benefits, as appropriate, in effect as of 

3 January 1, 2006, as if Notice DOE N. 351.1 (and any 

4 successor guidance) had not been promulgated or carried 

5 out. 

Æ 


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