A bipartisan group of lawmakers — including Ohio Sens. Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman, and Reps. Mike Turner, R-Dayton and Tim Ryan, D-Niles — tried to have the credit extended retroactive to Jan. 1, 2014.
Earlier drafts of a bill extending tax cuts included an extension of the tax credit as well, but the deal currently being considered by House Republicans leaves out the extension.
Suburban Columbus Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Genoa Twp., said a deal cut by Senate Democrats that had included the expansion received a veto threat from President Barack Obama for reasons unrelated to whether Delphi pensioners should get a tax credit. Now, Tiberi said, House Republicans feel obligated to pass a straight tax extender bill within a week or two or risk seeing tax increases for both individuals and businesses.
“At this point, the issue is time,” said Tiberi, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, which writes tax laws. “We have to get something to the president’s desk to avoid huge tax increases for a number of individuals and a number of businesses.”
Without the tax credit, many Delphi retirees not yet eligible for Medicare will lose a lifeline that allowed them to continue receiving health care after their pensions were sliced, said Bruce Gump, a Delphi retiree from Warren, Ohio. He called the likelihood of losing the credit “truly devastating for many of our members.”
More than 20,000 Delphi salaried retirees lost 30 to 70 percent of their pensions in the aftermath of the federal government’s $50 billion bailout of General Motors. Of that 20,000, about 5,000 live in Ohio, according to earlier estimates by Brown’s office, including 2,000 in the Dayton area.
Before it expired, the tax credit gave a 72.5 percent break to eligible workers, and was often used by retirees too young to be eligible for Medicare.
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said the extender bill provide tax breaks for the wealthy without taking the Delphi retirees into consideration.
“We must reach a balanced tax deal that provides these working families with the same fair shake and certainty we give businesses,” he said.
The Senate Finance Committee last April passed a bill co-sponsored by Brown, a Democrat, and Portman, a Republican, calling for extending the Health Care Tax Credit for two years.
But with the clock running out, House Republicans appear ready to go forward without extending the Delphi tax credit. Ryan accused Republicans of throwing Delphi salaried retirees and dislocated and retired United Steelworkers “under the bus.”
Turner said he would continue to push for an extension of the credit.
“This is not the end of the process,” he said.
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