10.22.20

White House’s Plan to Study Multiemployer Pensions is Not the Solution that Workers, Retirees, and Businesses Deserve

WASHINGTON – Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the White House announced a presidential memorandum to study the multiemployer pensions crisis.

“After nearly four years in office and less than two weeks before the election, the White House finally woke up to the reality that there’s a multiemployer pensions crisis. Unfortunately, instead of championing the responsible solution in the House-passed Heroes Act, the White House decided this issue deserves further study. That is simply unacceptable. We already had a select congressional committee on this issue that occurred on President Trump’s watch. Quite frankly, the multiemployer pensions crisis has been studied enough. It’s long past time for real solutions. House Democrats understand the urgency of this crisis and have voted three separate times to fully protect retirees’ pensions. Now, we are continuing to fight for the multiemployer pensions relief in the Heroes Act as the Speaker continues negotiations with Secretary Mnuchin.”

“More than a million workers and retirees are at risk of losing everything for which they saved. They expect and deserve a solution. Businesses across the country are being hurt by this crisis. They, too, expect and deserve a solution. Moreover, the longer we wait to address this crisis, the more expensive it will be to solve. Yet, by failing to proactively address the multiemployer pensions crisis, officials at the White House have only turned their back on our nation’s retirees and kicked the can even further down the road.” 

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