Congressman Cleaver Joins House and Senate Democrats in Sponsoring New Proposal for Retired Workers

Washington, D.C. - November 28, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II joined Democratic leaders from the House and Senate in sponsoring a new proposal to help pension retirees. The proposed legislation would ensure that retired workers keep the pensions they have earned. Specifically, the legislation would allow the Treasury Department to loan money through the sale of U.S. Treasury bonds to pension plans to ensure that retirees and their families are guaranteed their promised benefits.

“It was time for Congress to act. Millions of pensions are at risk. I listened to thousands of retirees in my district, and across the Midwest, who were worried about their pensions being cut, some by as much as 60 percent. I believe this plan is a practical, common-sense solution that will ensure retirees continue to receive the pensions they have worked for,” said Congressman Cleaver.

Pension plans – including the massive Teamsters’ Central States Pension Fund, the United Mine Workers Pension Plan, and over 200 more plans impacting workers in every state in the country – are on the brink of failure. If nothing is done, these 200 multiemployer plans are projected to fail, many within the next 10 years. The result would be economically devastating, as the retirement benefits of 1.5 million plan participants could be at risk.

Congressman Cleaver has been working on behalf of retirees on this issue since 2015 when over 800 retirees began contacting his office.

“In my district alone, there will be over 3,500 people affected. For the state of Missouri, an estimated 32,000 people are impacted with a total of $3 billion dollars’ worth of pensions,” said Congressman Cleaver.

The proposal would:

• Provide financing to put failing pension plans back on solid ground to ensure they can meet their commitments to retirees today and to workers for decades to come.

• Prevent cuts to benefits retirees have already earned.

• Put safeguards in place so pension plans remain strong for today's workers when they retire.

In 2016, Congressman Emanuel Cleaver held a town hall meeting for retired workers who are affected by the massive cuts to the Central States Pension Fund (CSPF) and led efforts to bring the U.S. Treasury Department’s Special Master, Kenneth Feinberg, to hear their concerns about the proposed steep cuts to the Central States Pension Fund. Over 1,500 people showed up at the Downtown Convention Center in Kansas City, Missouri to share their concerns, regarding the implementation of the Kline-Miller Act.

This year, Congressman Cleaver sent a letter, which can be found here, to President Donald Trump to address the crisis involving multi-employer pensions and in 2016 Congressman Cleaver sent a letter to the Department of Justice requesting a formal investigation into the management of the Central States Pension Fund to determine if there was any fraudulent or mishandling of funds. He also joined other U.S. House members in requesting a full accounting of the CSPF by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). That study is currently ongoing.

“It’s time to protect the promise we made to retirees. Protect their pensions,” said Congressman Cleaver.

Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee’s Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Blue Springs, Grain Valley, Oak Grove, North Kansas City, Gladstone, Claycomo, and all of Ray, Lafayette, and Saline Counties. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee, the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, and also a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus.

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