“I believe that making changes to pension retirement benefits in the middle of someone’s employment is wrong,” Turner told a meeting of the House Oversight Committee. “Changing the rules, especially when someone has already been vested in their benefits, is wrong.”
The primary change would be a new employee contribution requirement of 4.4%.
The plan alarmed federal workers and congressional staffers who suddenly might see their retirement benefits chopped — all part of a GOP plan that would save $51 billion over 10 years.
The change could have a large impact on southwest Ohio. The Dayton Daily News previously reported that about 83,500 workers in Ohio were employed by the federal government at the end of 2024.
What’s happening in the Dayton area?
Public media cuts
President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order aiming to slash public funding to PBS and NPR as he alleged “bias” in the broadcasters’ reporting. Just two weeks ago, the White House said it would be asking Congress to rescind funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Broadcasters like NPR and PBS stations get roughly half a billion dollars in public money through the CPB. Local stations like WYSO and ThinkTV receive some CPB funding, with CPB dollars contributing roughly 8% of WYSO’s operating budget and 16% of ThinkTV’s annual budget.
WYSO’s general manager sat down with Dayton Daily News to discuss the impact federal cuts could have on his station and others like his.
NATO coming to Dayton
Experts say the NATO Parliamentary Assembly will be a way for Dayton to show people from 32 countries what a Midwest city looks like, and an opportunity for Dayton to think more about international relations.
The Parliamentary Assembly meets twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall, in a member country. The PA will be in Dayton May 22-26, and this will be the first time since 2003 that it’s meeting in the U.S.
The war between Russia and Ukraine and America’s position in international relations are the two topics most likely to be discussed, local professors told this news outlet.
Other federal updates:
100 days
Trump celebrated 100 days in office during a rally in Michigan.
“We’re here tonight in the heartland of our nation to celebrate the most successful first 100 days of any administration in the history of our country,” Trump said, standing before large electronic screens reading “100 Day of Greatness.”
Trump continually talked about immigration during his 90-minute speech, pointing to his administration’s mass deportation efforts.
Columbus Day
Trump recentlty used a social media post to declare, “I’m bringing Columbus Day back from the ashes."
He said on his Truth Social site that “the Democrats did everything possible to destroy Christopher Columbus, his reputation, and all of the Italians that love him so much.”
The federal holiday, the second Monday in October, was still known as Columbus Day during ex President Joe Biden’s term, but also as Indigenous Peoples Day.
Job market
Employers added 177,000 jobs in April. That marks a decline in hiring from March, but it was better than economists anticipated. Job figures don’t yet reflect the effects on the economy of Trump’s across-the-board tariffs against America’s trading partners. Many of the more severe tariffs that were supposed to go into effect in April were delayed by three months.
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