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U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-12) today was appointed to the newly-created Joint Select Committee on Solvency and Multiemployer Pensions by House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. The Joint Select Committee will provide recommendations and legislative language to significantly improve the solvency of multiemployer pension plans and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, which has been a priority for Democrats in the budget negotiations. 

“Millions of workers in Michigan and across the country stand to see massive cuts to their pensions if Congress does not act,” said Dingell. “I want to thank Leader Pelosi for this appointment and for her leadership on this critical issue. The men and women I represent worked a lifetime to retire with dignity and security and they cannot afford to have the rug pulled out from under them. This has been one of my top priorities since coming to Congress, and I’m glad to be part of the effort to find real solutions to put failing pension plans back on solid ground and protect the retirement workers have earned. Let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work.”

“Defending every American’s right to a secure retirement is an urgent moral priority,” said Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. “Congresswoman Dingell’s leadership will be invaluable in honoring our promises to working Americans and preserving families’ economic well-being.”

Dingell has been fighting against proposed cuts to retiree pensions since coming to Congress. In 2016, she led a bipartisan coalition of 89 House colleagues in sending a letter to the U.S. Treasury Department urging the rejection of an application by the Central States Pension Fund to cut pensions by as much as 70 percent. Since the application was rejected, Dingell and her colleagues have been working with all stakeholders to find a solution that will shore up multiemployer pension plans without placing an undue burden on workers and retirees.