Congressman Horsford Votes to Protect the Pensions of 1.3 Million Seniors
Statement
Today, Congressman Steven Horsford joined his Democratic colleagues to pass H.R. 397, The Rehabilitation for Multiemployer Pensions Act, also known as the Butch Lewis Act.
Congressman Horsford co-sponsored this bill, which serves as an important backstop to ensure that retirees do not have their pensions taken from them. The Butch Lewis Act creates a new office within the Treasury Department: the Pension Rehabilitation Administration, which would allow pension plans to borrow money they need to remain solvent and continue providing retirement security for retirees and workers for decades to come.
"Today, the House of Representatives took a step toward securing the future for America's workers who, after a lifetime of hard work, deserve to retire with dignity and financial security," Congressman Horsford said of H.R. 397. "American workers in these failing multiemployer pension plans did everything right. They planned for their retirement, year after year choosing to contribute to their pensions instead of taking a wage increase. Thanks to the championing from House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal, I was able to vote with my colleagues today to give these Americans a sense of security in their retirement today."
Following World War II, many labor unions and employers across several different industries worked to create "multiemployer" pension plans with companies for which their members worked. These Americans worked and knew they had retirement security in the future. They knew they would be retiring with dignity.
Now, in the years following the 2008 financial crisis, while Wall Street and big banks were bailed out, retirees relying on this multiemployer plans saw their pensions take a devastating hit. Today, pension plans in every state in the country are in jeopardy with 1.3 million retired workers facing a financial nightmare.
"Today, we took an important step toward helping these beneficiaries avoid unacceptable benefit cuts, or seeing their multi-employer pension plans go insolvent," Congressman Horsford said. "Pensions are a promise to workers, one that must be kept, and I am proud today to vote to protect these hard-earned retirement benefits."
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