HR 6929 - the Delphi pension bill

[unite for individuality]

What do you think of this?

On August 31, my mail carrier delivered a post card
like the ones that political campaigns normally use for advertising.
This card touts Rep. Mike Turner's (R-OH-10) success at
getting the House to pass HR 6929, the Delphi pension bill, on July 27.
He had been working for 13 years to get the retirees pensions restored.

The mailing was franked.  It was not paid for by campaign funds.
On the card, it says,
"Paid for with official funds from the office of Congressman Mike Turner"

Here's the back story.

In the 1980s, General Motors had 34,000 employees in the Dayton area.
In 1994, most of the parts manufacturing
was spun off into a new corporation,
which a year later was renamed Delphi.

In 2009, the auto industry was struck by a financial crisis.
General Motors and its related companies became insolvent.
They didn't have enough money to pay their obligations.

Normally, in a situation like this, the bankruptcy laws apply.
A court can modify or eliminate the company's obligations.
The entities to whom the money is owed
(banks, suppliers, employees, etc.)
have to take the loss.

In this case, the Obama administration stepped in.
The bankruptcy laws were disregarded.
Union workers received their entire pensions,
subsidized by the U.S. government.
Salaried employees' pensions were drastically reduced, some of them to zero.

That is, the unions, who siphon off money from the workers
and make regular donations to the "Democratic" Party,
had their pensions fully funded, courtesy of the taxpayers.
The salaried employees, who don't make such payments
to the Democrats' protection racket,
lost most of their pensions.
Over 20,000 retirees were financially devastated.

For 13 years, Rep. Mike Turner and Dan Kildee (D-MI-5)
have fought to get the retirees' pensions restored.
On July 27, the House passed HR 6929,
formally called the Susan Muffley Act.
(https://www.delphisalariedretirees.org/delphi/eblastlink/Susan_Muffley_HTML.htm)

Every Democrat voted for the bill.
Every Republican, except 24, voted against it.
Here are the 24 -

Aderholt       R-AL
Brooks       R-AL
Baird    _    R-IN
Bergman       R-MI
Huizenga    R-MI
McClain       R-MI
Meijer       R-MI
Moolenaar _    R-MI 
Garbarino    R-NY
Jacobs       R-NY
Katko    _    R-NY
Balderson    R-OH
Carey       R-OH
Chabot       R-OH
Davidson    R-OH
Gibbs       R-OH
Gonzalez    R-OH
Johnson       R-OH
Joyce       R-OH
Latta    _    R-OH
Cole       R-OK
Fitzpatrick    R-PA
Kelly       R-PA
Gohmert       R-TX

Hartzler       R-MO (did not vote)

The above votes were reported by -
.   https://www.c-span.org/congress/votes/?chamber=house
.   HOUSE VOTE 396   July 27, 2022   4:46PM ET
.   H.R. 6929      Susan Muffley Act of 2022      PASSED   254-175, 1 Not Voting

As you can see, most of them represent districts where the affected retirees live.

The bill calls for the pensions to be fully restored,
for lump sum payments to be given to the retirees
to compensate for past money that was not paid,
and for the government to provide the money for these payments.
The bill also mandates that
income tax liability for the lump sum payments
be spread over three years,
to keep the retirees out of some of the higher tax brackets.

The bill has passed the House, and is now in the Senate.

More information, including
the text of the bill, and the list of co-sponsors (24 Dems, 17 Rs)
can be found at -
https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/6929

Does anyone have anything they'd like to say about all this?

[rustynail]

It sounds like a wrong was righted.  Why the opposition from the republicans?