Government affairs

In response to the threat of massive cuts and potential collapse of numerous Ohio pension plans, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced the Butch Lewis Act of 2017 (S. 2147) today, which would provide financial support to multiemployer pension plans across the country in order to avoid the possibility of future insolvency.

The bill would create a “Pension Rehabilitation Trust Fund” to establish a new agency within the Department of the Treasury, which would make loans to multiemployer defined benefit plans. The Pension Rehabilitation Administration would work to fix the growing pension crisis in the country, protecting the some 1.5 million active members, retirees and other beneficiaries currently participating in UFCW multiemployer pension plans.

“It’s bad enough that Wall Street squandered workers’ money – and it’s worse that the government that’s supposed to look out for these folks is trying to break the promise made to these workers,” Brown said. “We can’t allow that to happen.”

“Democrats are offering hard-working Americans across the country a better deal to protect their pensions, because the families of our ironworkers, truck drivers, steelworkers, and many more deserve a secure and bright future,” Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) said. “This new proposal is a priority for Democrats.”