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Today, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-12) participated in a field hearing in Columbus, OH of the Joint Select Committee on Solvency of Multiemployer Plans. The hearing featured testimony from employers, participants, and retirees that are affected by multiemployer pension plans facing insolvency.

Thursday and Friday, thousands – including a contingent from Michigan – gathered at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus for a rally to save pensions.

Video of Dingell’s speaking at the field hearing is available here.

“Today we heard that significant benefit cuts for retirees will come at a human cost that cannot be overlooked, and could increase government spending because more people will have to rely on safety net programs to survive,” said Dingell. “That is why it is so important for my colleagues to see the human faces for themselves, the same ones I see every day in Michigan. This is not an academic debate; this is about people’s lives. And time is running short. We have two weeks left in July before the August recess. After this hearing this committee will have received testimony from academics, employers, active employees, and retirees. We’ve gathered all the facts we need and now we need to roll up our sleeves and start negotiation a solution we can all support.”

The lawmakers heard testimony from:

• Roberta Dell, Chief Union Steward, Spangler Candy Company, Bryan, OH
• David A. Gardner, Chief Executive Officer, Alfred Nickles Bakery Inc., Navarre, OH
• Bill Martin, President, Spangler Candy Company, Bryan, OH
• Brian Slone, Apprentice Instructor, Millwright Local 1090, Dayton, OH
• Mike Walden, President, National United Committee to Protect Pensions, Cuyahoga Falls, OH
• Larry Ward, Retired Coal Miner and Former President of United Mine Workers of America, District 6, Hopedale, OH

Dingell has made fighting for a solution to the pension crisis a top priority since coming to Congress and recently introduced the Butch Lewis Act that would ensure multiemployer pension plans remain solvent and continue providing retirement security for members. 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. Dingell was appointed to the Joint Select Committee in February by Democratic Leader Pelosi.

The Joint Select Committee was created as part of the overall budget compromise that passed in February. The committee has instructions to report a bill by the last week of November, and is required to hold at least five public meetings, including the option of field hearings outside of D.C., so members of Congress can hear directly from retirees, workers and businesses affected by the pension crisis. The solution the committee produces will be guaranteed an expedited vote in the Senate without amendments. The Joint Select Committee is chaired by Senators Sherrod Brown (OH) and Orrin Hatch (UT) and made up of 16 members appointed by House and Senate leaders, equally divided between the House and Senate, Republicans and Democrats.

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