U.S. Senate passes pension reform; tax breaks stalled.

• Position: National

The U.S. Senate has sent landmark pension legislation to the president However, the bill does not include several major tax extenders, and attempts to attach estate tax cuts and increase the federal minimum wage also failed.

The pension bill requires corporations to fully fund defined-benefit retirement plans within seven years. It also sets new rules encouraging the use of 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs). The bill raises employer contribution amounts designed to close the $313 billion funding gap in the nation's employer-sponsored pension plans.

Absent from the bill were several important tax break extensions originally expected to be passed along with pension reform, including the:

* Research and development credit

* State sales tax

* College-tuition deductions

The tax break extensions...