Turner: Congress must pass legislation to help Delphi salaried retirees by year-end

U.S. Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) urged House leadership to pass legislation by year-end that would help more than 21,000 Delphi Corporation retirees that lost portions of their retirement benefits in the aftermath of the General Motors bailout in 2009.

Rep. Turner has been working closely with the Delphi Salaried Retiree Association to restore their benefits throughout the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations. There are about 5,180 Delphi retirees residing in Rep. Turner’s home state of Ohio out of the more than 21,000 retirees nationwide that would be impacted by legislation that the congressman introduced to help solve the problem.

Rep. Turner is an original cosponsor of the Susan Muffley Act of 2022, H.R. 6929, which was introduced by U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI) in March. The bipartisan bill restores the full vested monthly benefits for eligible participants of certain pension plans sponsored by Delphi and terminated as a result of General Motors’ bankruptcy.

The House passed H.R. 6929 in July, but the legislation has faced obstacles in the Senate.

“With only one month left in the 117th Congress, passing the Susan Muffley Act must be a high priority,” Rep. Turner and his colleagues wrote in a Dec. 8 letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). “After 13 years of working to fix this injustice, Delphi Salaried Retirees should not have to start over again next Congress.”

The letter also was signed by U.S. Reps. Bryan Steil (R-WI), Bill Johnson (R-OH), and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), among others.

“It is imperative that the Senate finally pass the Susan Muffley Act and that President Biden signs the bill into law,” the letter said. “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.”