Urge lawmakers to reject pension proposal

This is an urgent notice to anyone who has a pension to call, write and email Congress to urge lawmakers to stop pension legislation from being attached to the 2016 year-end omnibus spending bill.

U.S. Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., chair of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions, held a hearing in the fall on a 'Discussion Draft to Modernize Multiemployer Pensions,” commonly called the Composite Bill, even though it has not been introduced into Congress as a stand-alone piece of legislation.

However, the legislative language has been written, and, once introduced, the Composite Bill could follow the same path as the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014, or MPRA, and be attached as an amendment to the 2016 must-pass, year-end omnibus spending bill.

If that happens, the Composite Bill would become law without a single vote being cast on it.

The MPRA 2014 law targeted Teamsters Central States and other critically underfunded pension funds with proposed pension cuts on retirees. Don't let this happen to your pension.

The Composite Bill has the potential to undermine the stability of the multi-employer pension system. It could turn well-funded pension plans into poorly funded plans while allowing for cuts to retirees' and active workers' benefits in the old and new plans.

Chairman Kline's proposed Composite Legislation has long-lasting implications for workers and retirees. This issue is too complex and too important to push through on an end-year bill. Congress should hold hearings after Jan. 1 and work with retirees, unions, employers, trustees and others to develop a comprehensive bill that focuses on ways to stabilize the multi-employer plan system.

Nearly 10 million workers and retirees are counting on their multi-employer pension to be there for them at retirement. It would be a tragedy for lawmakers to push through Kline's Composite Bill, making sweeping changes to our retirement system, without addressing critical problems.

Don't let this happen to your pension. Call Congress now, before it breaks for the holidays. Tell your congressional representatives to refuse to allow the Composite Bill to become law as an amendment to this year's Omnibus Spending Bill. Tell them to oppose any legislation that would put pensions at risk.

Tell them there are serious and critical problems with Kline's Composite Bill that require viable solutions. More time is needed to address these issues with the next Congress after the first of the year.

Don't delay. Protect your pension. Tell Congress to reject Chairman Kline's proposal.

' Kay Daubenmier of Cedar Rapids is the wife of a retired Teamster. More information: mycspensionhandsoff.com