Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Neguse), my friend, for yielding to me to speak in favor of this rule, which includes consideration of legislation that I and others drafted, the Susan Muffley Act, to ensure that people who worked hard, played by the rules--20,000 of these Delphi salaried retirees, including 5,000 in my home State of Michigan--have their pensions protected. The Susan Muffley Act is a bipartisan bill. I will address that again in a moment. Republicans and Democrats came together to pull this legislation together. The AARP supports it; the AFL-CIO supports it. These are workers who lost their pension through no fault of their own. When General Motors filed for bankruptcy during the recession, PBGC assumed responsibility for these retirees and unfairly cut their benefits as a result of the discharge of that bankruptcy. These retirees were treated differently than other retirees affected by that bankruptcy. As a result, it upended so many lives. In September of 2009, the Delphi Salaried Retirees Association filed suit. After unsuccessfully petitioning the Supreme Court, it became obvious and clear that a legislative solution was the only way to get this done. My legislation would make those retirees whole again. The beneficiaries will receive a payment, the difference between what they would have received had their pension been protected. But let me just get to the point why this action is necessary.…”