[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 82 (Thursday, May 11, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E626]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         INTRODUCTION OF THE ``KEEP OUR PENSION PROMISES ACT''

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 11, 2017

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, today I reintroduce the Keep Our Pension 
Promises Act to reinstate the long standing federal law and principal 
that prohibited cuts to private pension benefits in plans for retirees.
  Pensions are one of the surest means to afford millions of middle 
class families' security in retirement. They have allowed millions of 
Americans to enjoy their golden years without fear that they have not 
saved enough. For decades, pensions guaranteed our senior citizens the 
peace of mind that a check would arrive every month for as long as they 
live: this is true retirement security.
  But in December 2014, Congress uprooted this security for millions of 
retirees. At the last minute, in a must pass funding bill, Congress 
included the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act (MPRA) eviscerating this 
protection. With little understanding of what the provisions meant, 
Congress changed a forty year old pension law that ensured retirees 
were given the highest level of pension-defense. The Employee 
Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA, allowed for pension benefits 
in multiemployer plans to be cut only when a plan runs out of money--
and even then, the retiree benefits should face cuts last. This held 
true because it was the right thing to do.
  Pensions are not handouts, they are deferred wages earned over a 
lifetime of hard work. An estimated 1.5 million participants, including 
retirees, are in multiemployer pension plans that are in danger of 
running out of money in the near future. The passage of MPRA allowed 
for the first time, benefits of current retirees to be cut in an 
attempt to address the fiscal distress confronting some of these 
multiemployer plans.
  This was wrong then, and remains a blemish on the Congressional 
record that little action has been taken to correct the undue burden it 
placed on retirees. That's why today I introduce the ``Keep Our Pension 
Promises Act'' with Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
  This Act corrects the injustices bestowed upon our most vulnerable 
retirees by restoring anti-cutback rules so retirees in financially 
troubled multiemployer pension plans are protected from having their 
earned benefits cut.
  It will allow plans to partition off ``orphaned'' participants into a 
separate plan, giving participating employers relief from shouldering 
the full financial burden and risk of underfunded ``orphaned'' 
participants--ensuring the ability for plans to become financially 
secure once more.
  This bill recognizes funding is the ultimate concern. It shores up 
the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp and creates a legacy fund to ensure 
participants in partitioned plans will continue to receive the benefits 
they depend upon. The costs to create this fund are covered by closing 
tax loopholes the very wealthy use to avoid taxes on like-kind 
exchanges and supersized IRA accounts that hold millions, despite laws 
that limit accounts to much smaller tax deductible amounts.
  Further the bill ensures pension obligations are prioritized during 
bankruptcies, which will help the remaining employers in the plan by 
making it less likely they become responsible for underfunded orphan 
plans.
  Over the past few years the retirees facing these cuts mobilized. 
They organized dozens of committees to spread the message of how 
damaging the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act has and will be to their 
lives and financial security. The Keep Our Pension Promises Act 
recognizes shared sacrifice is the appropriate course of action to save 
the golden years of retirement for these retirees. I encourage my 
colleagues to support this measure and correct the misguided action of 
passage of the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act.

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