General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I gotta rant on the pension cuts in the funding bill, it made my 77 year old mom cry! [View all]Zorra
(27,670 posts)Weve seen this movie before and it never ends well a last-minute scheme worked out largely in private to solve a complex problem without the full and public consideration of Congress, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said.
This time, the topic is multiemployer pensions and the excuse for hasty action is the need to keep pensions for millions of hard-working mine workers, truck drivers and other retirees from going bankrupt. And this time, the last-minute scheme was rushed through by a few House members in private during the final days of the legislative year without consideration by the Senate Finance Committee and other committees of jurisdiction.
That flawed process has produced a lopsided solution leaving existing retirees to shoulder a disproportionate share of sacrifice. It also will result in the rolling back of a major tenet enshrined in pension law never take away money a pensioner has already earned.
Under this bill, for the first time, Congress will allow multiemployer plans to cut retirees earned pension benefits. This is unprecedented and I worry about the impact on retirees and the slippery slope were about to head down. At a minimum, all stakeholders should have the opportunity to understand and deliberate fully the implications of a complicated bill 160-pages long and we all know that is impossible this late in the game.
http://www.finance.senate.gov/newsroom/chairman/release/?id=958e1412-74b6-4d8c-8142-006904575679