[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 10 (Wednesday, January 17, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H418]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     ADDRESSING THE PENSION CRISIS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from West 
Virginia (Mr. McKinley) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. McKINLEY. Mr. Speaker, gradually, many of America's largest 
multiemployer pension funds are slipping into insolvency, threatening 
the retirement income of millions of Americans. Funds such as the 
United Mine Workers of America, the Central States Pension Fund, the 
Boilermakers, the IBEW, and over 50 others are in critical condition.
  Failure of these funds would leave retirees who have paid their dues 
throughout their entire career without the income that they were 
expecting and promised.
  This pending economic crisis for families could mean a loss of 
hundreds of billions of dollars in funds and must be avoided.
  I have worked with representatives of the coal miners and the 
construction building trades preparing a resolution. If we fail to act 
soon, our options become increasingly limited and extremely expensive.
  For example, the UMWA pension fund has been predicted to collapse by 
2022, or sooner. But the real culprit to their pension crisis comes not 
from Wall Street, the management of the operations, but from right here 
in Washington. Environmental regulations aimed at putting coal out of 
business have resulted in the loss of over 470 coal mines, 350 coal-
fired generating plants, and 86,000 coal jobs as a result of the 
bankruptcy of mining companies.
  Some have suggested that the funds could fall into the Pension 
Benefits Guaranty Corporation, but the Pension Benefits Guaranty 
Corporation says it, too, is underfunded. Assuming the liability of one 
or more of these troubled funds will lead to their own insolvency.
  H.R. 3913, the American Miners Pension Act, would allow their funds 
to recover by borrowing funds that will be paid back. It is important 
to emphasize this point. The loans are designed to be paid back. It is 
not a bailout.
  A bipartisanship Pension Protection Caucus that I co-chair with 
Representatives Richard Nolan and Debbie Dingell shares this common 
goal of raising attention to this crisis before it is too late.
  Congress must come together and find a bipartisanship solution that 
works for all of these critical funds and takes care of the families 
that need peace of mind.
  So on behalf of the American coal miners, the Teamsters, the 
builders, bakers, boilermakers, and many others, we must act now.

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