Congressional Panel Seeks Input on Multiemployer Pension Solutions
"This committee is finally forcing Congress to treat the pension crisis in this country with the seriousness and urgency American workers deserve. Hearing directly from workers, retirees, and businesses about what is at stake for them will help the committee craft the best possible solution," Sen. Sherrod Brown said.
The co-chairs of the Joint Select Committee on the Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans, U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, announced April 20 that the committee is seeking input from workers, retirees, and employers as the congressional panel works to improve the solvency of multiemployer pension plans and the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation. The committee met for the second time that day.
The senators said input from these stakeholders will be critical to finding a solution, and Brown said more than 60,000 Ohioans' pensions are at risk and encouraged workers to provide input.
"This committee is finally forcing Congress to treat the pension crisis in this country with the seriousness and urgency American workers deserve. Hearing directly from workers, retirees, and businesses about what is at stake for them will help the committee craft the best possible solution," Brown said.
"As the committee works to report on the solvency of multiemployer pension plans and the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation and provide recommendations to significantly improve their long-term health, I am interested in hearing from stakeholders," Hatch agreed. "Information and insights, from both the public and private sectors, will be useful to the committee as it analyzes the challenges plaguing the current multiemployer pension system and works to develop solutions to strengthen retirement security for Americans across the country."
Stakeholders can submit comments to the committee's mailbox at [email protected]. The deadline to respond is Sept. 30, 2018. All submissions will be considered part of the public record; should be clear and concise; directed at the issues that the Joint Select Committee is charged to consider; and provided in the form of an email attachment (either in Microsoft Word or text-searchable PDF file). The email containing the attachment should clearly indicate the name(s) of the author(s), contact information, and any professional affiliation.
The committee was created by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. Its members include Sens. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho; Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D.; Joe Manchin III, D-W.V.; Rob Portman, R-Ohio; Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.; and Tina Smith, D-Minn.; and U.S. Reps. Vern Buchanan, D-Fla.; Debbie Dingell, D-Mich.; Virginia Foxx, R-N.C.; Richard E. Neal, D-Mass.; Donald Norcross, D-N.J.; David Schweikert, R-Ariz.; and Bobby Scott, D-Va.
By Nov. 30, 2018, the committee will vote on a report containing a detailed statement of findings, conclusions, and recommendations, and on proposed legislative language to carry out the recommendations described in the report.