Golden Votes to Protect Retirement for American Workers

Statement

Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) helped pass legislation he cosponsored this week to save the pensions of at least 1.3 million American workers and retirees. The Rehabilitation Multiemployer Pensions Act, known as the Butch Lewis Act, would take steps to keep multiemployer pensions solvent and continue to provide long-term retirement security for retirees and workers.

"We tell Americans that if they work hard during their career, they'll earn a secure retirement," said Congressman Golden. "Unless we act, that promise will soon be broken for more than a million workers. Forces out of their control, including Wall Street greed, are putting their pensions at risk. I'm proud to work across the aisle to pass this bill that would not only save the retirements of these workers, but also save money for taxpayers, employers, and the communities in which these workers and retirees live."

In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) estimates that approximately 130 multiemployer pensions plans, covering 1.3 million participants, are projected to be insolvent within the next 20 years. By 2025, some retirees who paid into these pension plans could then see their pensions cut by 90 percent or more.

Congressional inaction on the multiemployer plans could cost taxpayers more than $170 billion over 10 years, according to one estimate. The Butch Lewis Act is projected to cost $48.5 billion over the same period.

The Butch Lewis Act will establish an agency within the U.S. Department of Treasury called the Pension Rehabilitation Administration (PRA) that would allow the threatened pension plans to borrow the money they need to stay solvent through Treasury-issued bonds to financial institutions.

The Butch Lewis Act has the support of the labor community, including AFL-CIO, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), National Association of Police Organizations, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), United Steelworkers (USW), and more.

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