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With little time left before the 117th Congress adjourns, some lawmakers have asked House and Senate leadership to include the Susan Muffley Act -- legislation that restores lost benefits for thousands of Delphi salaried retirees -- in any year-end legislation.
A letter sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, and Republican Senate Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, states passing the act "must be a high priority."
One of the signers is U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, D-Marietta, who represents a portion of the Mahoning Valley.
"After 13 years of working to fix this injustice, Delphi salaried retirees should not have to start over again next Congress. It is imperative that the Senate finally pass the Susan Muffley Act and that President Biden signs the bill into law," the letter states. "Alternatively, the provisions of the Susan Muffley Act could be included in a year-end package. Congress must not remain silent in the face of the thousands of retirees devastated by this injustice."
In 2009, more than 20,000 Delphi salaried retirees, including thousands from the Valley, lost portions of their retirement benefits when the former auto parts maker went bankrupt.
The company surrendered its pension obligations to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation -- the insurer of last resort for the nation's private retirement plans -- while in its own government-planned bankruptcy in 2009, it was determined General Motors would fund fully union pensions for Delphi hourly employees.
The salaried retirees weren't as fortunate and have argued their pensions should have been covered as well.
They took the matter to court, and for 13 years fought to win back the pensions, but that ended in January when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider their case.
The Susan Muffley Act would restore the benefits. In May, House members voted 254-175 in favor of the bill that would require the PBGC to make up the difference between the partial retirement benefits already paid retirees and what they originally were due in one lump sum.
The retirees also would receive 6 percent interest on the retroactive pay to help ease the tax burden. Then, moving forward, the retirees would receive their full pensions as if they never were disrupted.
The bill, however, stalled in the Senate.
In early August, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown bought the act to the Senate floor, seeking unanimous consent -- a process that expedites the course of the legislation. He was unsuccessful when Republicans blocked his attempt despite some GOP support, including from U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio.
Republicans in the Senate and House opposed the bills because they said, in part, it creates bad precedent that other plans controlled by the PBGC would follow.
Supporters, meanwhile, say the bill is about fairness and restoring the retirement benefits the salaried retirees rightfully earned.
Then, Brown took another legislative approach in October, attaching the act as an amendment to the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act. The act did not make as a part of the NDAA.
According to Brown's office, he plans to reintroduce the bill in the next Congress and "continue to fight for Delphi salaried workers."