81.   With a defined benefit program, ups and downs get smoothed out.

82.   You can pass over stock buybacks done for executive compensation programs or to have stock available for employee benefit programs or dividend reinvestment plans.

83.   Other recipients of federal benefit programs, such as veterans, civil service retirement and railroad retirement, also will receive checks.

84.   At issue is whether that state law is overridden by a federal law that governs employee benefit programs, the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

85.   Benefit programs such as Medicare and Social Security would likewise be shielded.

86.   Both Kizer and Joe Thompson, who runs the VA benefits program, separately concurred with the task force findings and urged West to list diabetes.

87.   But they are likely to chop benefit programs like Medicare, Medicaid and welfare much more deeply than Clinton would.

88.   California still has some work left to do on its unemployment benefits program, he said.

89.   Economists say that both new filings and the number of people remaining in the benefit program are good indicators of the health of the labor market.

90.   He bragged that popular middle-class benefit programs like Social Security and Medicare were not cut.