Although the House passed the Susan Muffley Act this past July, it did not win Senate assent several weeks later, stalling when an Idaho senator raised an objection for apparent procedural reasons.
The act, named after a Delphi retiree, would have used federal funds to restore the pensions of retired engineers and managers from former auto parts producer Delphi, a company that once employed thousands of Dayton-area residents.
The upshot: The measure will not get to President Biden’s desk for a signature this year, either by itself or as part of the massive, $1.65 trillion omnibus bill, even though Biden had supported the effort.
It was a big ask in the final, busy days of this Congress.
“The amendment to the House omnibus bill is a long shot,” Washington Twp. resident and retired Delphi manager Tom Rose said in an email to the Dayton Daily News Thursday. “The Rules Committee can either approve it, deny it or call for a floor vote. It would truly be a Christmas miracle if successful.”
Salaried retirees from a then-bankrupt Delphi saw their pensions diminished when the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. assumed control of the company’s pensions in 2009, reduced by up to 70% in some cases, all while General Motors, Delphi’s former owner, continued to support the pensions of hourly, union-represented Delphi workers.
The PBGC’s takeover of the pensions affected more than 20,000 salaried retirees nationwide — including over 5,000 in Ohio.
“In 2009, the government took away over 20,000 Delphi salaried retirees’ pensions and it is long past time to right that wrong,” Turner, a Dayton Republican, said Thursday. “For the last 13 years, I have joined Delphi retirees in challenging this injustice in Congress, at the Supreme Court, and directly to three U.S. presidents. Now is the best opportunity to pass the Susan Muffley Act and rightfully restore these pensions to Delphi retirees and their families.”
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