Ryan praises House passage of act to save pensions

WASHINGTON

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th, praised House passage of the Rehabilitation for Multiemployer Pensions Act, (the Butch Lewis Act). This legislation addresses the nation’s worsening multiemployer pension crisis and saves pensions of at least 1.3 million workers and retirees.

The bill passed the House with a vote of 264-169.

“Pensions are not ‘benefits’ given as a gift from employer to employee, they are payment for work that was already done. Workers and employers reach an agreement to be paid a lower salary in order to receive their pension at a later date. And when these pensions are cut or dissolved, it is a clear breach of contract. Hard-working men and women are being robbed. It’s that simple. Unfortunately, there is a multiemployer pension crisis in our country, and more than a million workers and retirees are at risk of losing their hard-earned pensions,” said Ryan. “Today, the House kept the promises made to retirees and passed landmark legislation preserving their benefits and ensuring a secure retirement. I’m also proud to vote for this bill in honor of the memory of Butch Lewis – a Vietnam Veteran, retired truck driver from West Chester, Ohio, and the retired head of Teamsters Local 100 in Cincinnati, Ohio. American retirees should never have to doubt their financial security after a lifetime spent building our great county.”

The Butch Lewis Act would create a new office within the Treasury Department called the Pension Rehabilitation Administration (PRA). The PRA would allow pension plans to borrow the money they need to remain solvent and continue providing retirement security for retirees and workers for decades to come.

The money for the loans and the cost of running the PRA would come from the sale of Treasury issued bonds to financial institutions. The PRA would sell Treasury-issued bonds in the open market to large investors, such as financial firms. The PRA would then lend the money from the sale of the bonds to the financially-troubled pension plans.

To ensure that the pension plans can afford to repay the loans, the PRA would lend them money for 30 years at low interest rates. The 30-year loans will pay benefits owed to current retirees and buy time for the pension plans so they can focus on investing for long-term health.

The Butch Lewis Act does not cut retiree benefits.