Bill to restore lost Delphi retiree pensions reintroduced in Senate

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A bipartisan bill that looks to restore the retirement benefits for 20,000 Delphi salaried retirees is getting considered again.

U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Mike Braun (R-IN) led the reintroduction the Susan Muffley Act Wednesday, a spokesperson said in a release.

Dayton Congressman Mike Turner and Michigan Congressman Dan Kidlee introduced the legislation in the House of Representatives earlier this year. Last year, the House was able to pass the bill, but it failed on the Senate floor.

>> RELATED: ‘Unjustly taken;’ Ohio lawmaker reintroducing bill to restore lost Delphi retiree pensions

The Susan Muffley Act, which was first introduced in March 2022, would restore the fully vested monthly benefits to the non-union Delphi Corporation retirees, News Center 7 previously reported.

Delphi was acquired by GM during the recession of 2009. GM fell under financial hardship during the recession and was bailed out by the Federal Government. At the direction of the Obama Administration and as a part of the bailout, Delphi employees lost their pensions.

Over 5,000 of the 20,000 retirees are in Ohio, according to a spokesperson for Brown’s office.

The act is named after Susan Muffley, who was part of the Delphi Salaried Retirees Leadership that fought for years to get pensions restored. Muffley’s husband, David, lost his pension, and she avoided seeing a doctor due to the family’s financial restraints. She was later diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and passed away in August 2012.

“After years of work by workers and retirees in Ohio and Michigan, it’s past time to restore the full benefits of the Delphi Salaried Retirees,” Brown said in a statement. “I’ll keep working with members of both parties and the White House to get results for these retirees.”

>> PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Ohio lawmakers continue to fight to restore Delphi retirees’ pensions

News Center 7′s Mike Campbell spoke to Turner earlier this year about the plans to restart efforts to get the legislation passed.

“I believe that we have all the support that we had last time. And so if we put it on the House floor, I think that once again, it will overwhelmingly pass,” Turner said.

In February, Turner said he felt the bill was gaining steam with senators. At the time, he mentioned there was a “learning curve” with newly elected senators to understand that the bill is not a pension bailout.

“This is not a pension bailout. These individuals had a fully funded pension where it was taken away from them in the bankruptcy by government. So it needs a government solution. This is not where someone mismanaged the pension fund,” Turner said.

© 2023 Cox Media Group