IThe 107th Congress focused increased attention on the issue of pension protection and corporate accountability prompted by the collapse of major corporations such as Enron and WorldCom. On July 30, 2002, President Bush signed into law the Accounting Industry Reform Act of 2002 (H.R. 3763) commonly referred as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act after the legislative sponsors. This compromise legislation is considered to be the most comprehensive revision of business practices since the Depression. Below are summary provisions under the direction of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

- Provides tougher criminal provisions with full access and investigative powers.
- Establishes restitution fund for victims of corporate fraud.
- Creates rules ensuring separation of stock analysts from investment banking arms of their respective brokerage firms.
- Extends timeframe for filing lawsuits along with protection for whistleblowers.

In addition to the above changes, a new independent audit oversight board was created as a result of the Act. This board is given broad investigative powers as well as the ability to punish offending accounting firms of publicly traded companies. The board is also charged with the responsibility of setting ethical standards for the accounting industry. Although under the auspices of the SEC, funding for the board will be provided by publicly traded companies.

The Accounting Industry Reform Act also contains two key provisions which were added to protect pension funds:

- Company insiders are barred from selling stock during blackout periods.
- Employees are provided 30-day notification prior to the start of a blackout period.

In June 2001, President Bush signed the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act (EGTRRA) into law. Among other features, the Act contained numerous public pension reform provisions, including enhanced portability and catch-up provisions for older workers. These provisions were scheduled to "sunset" December 31, 2010. As of this writing, the phased-in tax cuts of EGTRRA, including many of the Act's pension tax reduction proposals, are now being considered for permanent adoption, thereby eliminating the sunset provisions.

In addition, Congress is set to give consideration to the so-called "Portman-Cardin" bill which could include some public pension reforms. Provisions may include restoration of the age 55 floor on the 415(b) limit for public employees, and the removal of the 10% early distribution penalty for public safety offices receiving distributions from DROP plans.

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