Trahan, Scott support legislation to ensure pensions will not be lost
U.S. Reps. Lori Trahan, D-Lowell, and Bobby Scott, D-Virginia, are pushing a bill that would ensure retirees receive the pension benefits they earned. Some multiemployer pension plans are almost certain to run out of money, causing retirees to lose benefits earned over a lifetime.
MARLBOROUGH – U.S. Reps. Lori Trahan and Bobby Scott of Virginia reiterated their support Wednesday for legislation that ensures retirees receive the pension benefits they earned.
Trahan and Scott, both Democrats, held a roundtable discussion with union leaders at the Service Employees International Union Local 509 headquarters in Marlborough. The two legislators called the Rehabilitation for Multiemployer Pensions Act – also known as the Butch Lewis Act – an important step to addressing the multiemployer pension crisis.
There are about 1,400 multiemployer plans covering about 10 million people throughout the country. Although multiemployer plans have been historically successful, a significant number of them have funding problems, and many are almost certain to run out of money. If they do, retirees, workers and their families would lose benefits earned over a lifetime of work, according to a press release from Ways & Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Massachusetts, who introduced the bill in January.
The bipartisan legislation would establish the Pension Rehabilitation Administration (PRA), a new agency within the Department of the Treasury that would be authorized to issue bonds to finance loans to critical and declining status multiemployer pension plans, plans that have suspended benefits and some recently insolvent plans receiving financial assistance from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
Scott said the cost to implement the bill is far less than doing nothing. He surmised that retirees who lose their pensions will pay less income tax and be more likely to go on government funded programs such as Medicaid and food stamps.
“Of all the options, the stupidest thing is to do nothing,” said Scott, chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor. “The most expensive thing to do is nothing.”
Trahan, whose district includes Marlborough, Hudson and Precinct 1 in Sudbury, said it would be “heartbreaking” for millions of retirees who depend on their pensions.
Scott, a co-sponsor of the bill, is hopeful the legislation will be passed in the House of Representatives and move to the Senate. But some in Congress do not have any interest in the legislation, he said.
“We’re going to try to get it to the floor,” he said.
“It’s clear we all want to get an infrastructure bill done,” said Trahan.
The bill is expected to create about 1.9 million jobs, said Scott.
“We’re optimistic if we have an infrastructure bill it will create jobs,” he said.
Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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