[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 177 (Wednesday, November 16, 2022)]
[House]
[Page H8513]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              RECOGNIZING CHIEF MASTER SERGEANT JOHN JONES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
New York (Ms. Tenney) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. TENNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Chief Master 
Sergeant John Jones of Utica, New York, who retired in October of this 
year after nearly 30 years of full-time service in the Air National 
Guard.
  Chief Master Sergeant John A. Jones entered the Air Force in August 
of 1993, serving in ever-increasing positions of responsibility over 
the next 29 years, culminating in his most recent position as 
superintendent of the 174th Maintenance Operations Flight at Hancock 
Field Air National Guard Base in Syracuse, New York.
  Chief Jones started his career at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware as 
an airlift aircraft maintenance specialist, where he maintained the C-5 
Galaxy. He accumulated hundreds of flying hours in both peacetime and 
combat missions.
  He transitioned to the 174th Fighter Wing of the New York Air 
National Guard in 1997, serving 9 years as an attack controls systems 
specialist and electronic integrated systems specialist. In those 
roles, he maintained critical electronic systems of the F-16 Fighting 
Falcon.
  In 2006, Chief Jones moved to the Maintenance Group Quality Assurance 
office as the avionics inspector, eventually serving as the chief 
inspector and superintendent.
  Chief Jones deployed multiple times to the European and Middle 
Eastern theaters of operation in service of our country to support 
Operations Deliberate Force, Southern Watch, Noble Eagle, and Enduring 
Freedom.
  Chief Jones was also instrumental in the modernization of New York's 
Air National Guard fleet, including playing a pivotal role overseeing 
the aircraft conversion from the F-16 Fighting Falcon to the MQ-9 
Reaper.
  I have come to personally know Chief Jones through his dedicated work 
as the New York Wing commander of the Civil Air Patrol, a program I 
care deeply about and have consistently supported as a Member of 
Congress and also as a member of the New York State Assembly. My son, 
Trey, who is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a Marine officer, 
was once a young man in the Civil Air Patrol's cadet program.
  I saw firsthand how Civil Air Patrol's educational program and 
leadership training lit a spark within him that played a role in 
propelling him to serve our Nation. CAP continues to do the same for 
young men and women across our country.
  I had the opportunity recently to explore just how the Civil Air 
Patrol's New York Wing conducts disaster relief missions when I joined 
Chief Jones and his cadets for a training session in Rome, New York. I 
saw young cadets experience their first flights and was able to ride in 
a Civil Air Patrol plane myself.
  Thank you to Chief Jones for his experience as well as decades of 
service to our community and our Nation. I wish him the very best in 
retirement, and I am confident he will continue to find ways to give 
back to our region and continue to empower and inspire leaders of the 
next generation.


                  Supporting Delphi Salaried Retirees

  Ms. TENNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call upon the Senate to 
quickly pass the Susan Muffley Act, which you may remember passed this 
body earlier this year with strong bipartisan support.
  Under the Obama administration, the Delphi salaried retirees had 
their pension benefits slashed, while unionized hourly workers received 
their full benefits. This was an injustice to the Delphi salaried 
retirees that must be remedied, and it was the fault of the Pension 
Benefit Guaranty Corporation, a Federal program.
  The Susan Muffley Act, led by Congressman  Dan Kildee and Congressman 
 Mike Turner, would fully restore the Delphi salaried retirees' full 
pension benefits with backpay.
  I was honored to support this legislation when it passed the House of 
Representatives in July. Thank you to all of my colleagues across the 
aisle and everyone who recognized this grave injustice and supported 
these hardworking people who deserve these benefits restored.
  Now, the Senate must pass this legislation before it expires at the 
end of this year. The Delphi group has been fighting for almost 15 
years to correct this wrong, and it would be a travesty if they lost 
this battle.
  That is why I am calling on Senate leadership and all the Senators to 
bring the Susan Muffley Act to the floor, to support it, and to include 
it in their end-of-year work this legislative session. Together, we can 
make the Delphi employees whole and can right this wrong and this 
terrible injustice to these hardworking Americans who just did their 
job and paid into their own pension system and were not able to receive 
the benefits that were the fruits of their labor.

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