Michigan Congressman Dan Kildee, D-Flint, is calling on lawmakers to restore the pension benefits of former Delphi salaried employees.
The collapse of General Motors during the 2008 Great Recession resulted in over 5,000 Michiganders losing up to 70% of their retirement benefits.
Retirees say they've been fighting to get their benefits restored for 14 years and that congressional action is required after losing their appeal at the U.S. Supreme Court in January 2022.
Last year, Kildee’s bill to restore the benefits, known as the Susan Muffley Act, passed the House but never made it out the Senate.
During a call with reporters, Kildee said the approach to re-introducing the bill will be a little different this time around. He said educating Senators will be crucial because there’s a lot of misunderstandings about the case.
"It's not the product of mismanagement by the pension trustees, it's the product of the federal government decisions, the federal government owns the problem, and the federal government is responsible for fixing it," said Kildee.
Kildee, the author of the legislation, said Congressman Mike Turner, R-OH, is prepared to educate Republican lawmakers in both chambers of Congress about the bill.
Turner said during the press conference that this issue is a Midwest issue and that he plans to engage with Senators from states like Utah to make sure they understand the nuances of the bill.
