OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Susan Muffley Act of 2022

Floor Speech

Date: July 27, 2022
Location: Washington, DC

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. TURNER. Madam Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Foxx for yielding me time.

I am an original cosponsor of this bill, H.R. 6929. This legislation restores the pensions of the Delphi Salaried Retirees.

I am very proud to speak on behalf of this bipartisan bill. During the Obama administration's 2009 taxpayer-funded General Motors bankruptcy bailout, President Obama's Auto Task Force directed the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation to terminate the fully funded pensions of more than 20,000 Delphi Automotive salaried retirees.

Even worse is that the pensions of the salaried retirees were terminated while the Obama Auto Task Force used the taxpayer-funded bankruptcy to top up the pensions of the Delphi union employees. The Obama administration choose winners and losers, with taxpayers' dollars.

A 2013 report published by the Special Inspector General for TARP said: ``Treasury did not view the non-UAW Delphi hourly employees or the Delphi salaried employees as having leverage because they could not hold up GM's bankruptcy.''

These pensions did not fail. These pensioners were robbed of their pensions by the people who were supposed to protect them.

For over 13 years now, I have worked with my colleagues to try to restore these pensions. President Trump issued a Presidential directive, a memorandum directing the PBGC to provide options for restoring through the agency calling ``the plight of Delphi's salaried and non-unionized workforce a great concern to my administration.''

President Biden also supports this legislation. Now, Congress must restore these pensions. There is no precedent for this bill. No one else has had the White House pick winners and losers and take away their pensions.

It is our responsibility, as Members of Congress, to address this injustice. We finally have the chance to rectify this wrong. Stand up for the 20,000 hardworking Americans who want what is rightfully theirs. I ask my colleagues to support this legislation.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT


Source
arrow_upward