Wonders never cease.

The Wall Street Journal (sub required) reports tonight that House and Senate negotiators are close to coming to terms on a new pension bill.

PBB readers know that we have been following the progress, er, lack of progress on this bill since last year.

Negotiations on the bill have been mired in Potomac Muck for months, but last weekend, according to the WSJ,

“A bipartisan bloc of five House and Senate members began drafting a proposed settlement independent of Sen. Michael Enzi (R., Wyo.), the official leader of the talks and chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pension Committee. The unusual process is politically delicate for all involved, but it has had the active support of House Majority Leader John Boehner (R., Ohio). “I think we are very close to an agreement,” Mr. Boehner said yesterday. Montana Sen. Max Baucus, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said there’s a “good chance of getting this all wrapped up before the August recess.”

Interesting. And yes, this does sound like a rather unusual way to get the bill put together.

According to the report, “The agreement is also expected to include a break for Northwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines, giving them a period of 20 years to fully fund their pension plans, rather than the seven-year deadline all other companies would face. The agreement would also require a so-called hard freeze of pension benefits for the airlines. AMR Corp.’s American and Continental Airlines would get 10 years to meet their current pension obligations and would also have to freeze new obligations.”

Employees of Northwest and Delta swarmed the Hill this week, trying to cajole, connive, or, as a last resort, break some arms — in an attempt to impress upon legislators not only on the importance of a pension bill — but a pension bill that gives breaks to the airline industry.