After Getting Commitment from Treasury Secretary to Meet with Missouri Truckers, McCaskill Extends Formal Invitation

At confirmation hearing for Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Senator discussed her fight to fulfill pension guarantees for Missouri’s workers, retirees—urged Mnuchin to meet with Missourians

WASHINGTON – After receiving a commitment from President Trump’s Treasury Secretary nominee Steven Mnuchin that if confirmed, he would meet with Missouri truckers and other Missouri workers and retirees facing deep benefit cuts—U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill today extended that formal invitation to now-Secretary Mnuchin.

McCaskill had asked Secretary Mnuchin to meet with Missourians facing the threat of deep cuts to their retirement benefits because of the instability of the Central States Pension Fund.

“Like so many others, these [retired workers] are concerned about the welfare of their families should they lose their pensions,” said McCaskill, a former Missouri State Auditor in her invitation to Secretary Mnuchin. “But most of all, these Missourians just want to know that their elected officials in Washington are listening to their problems, and that we are working to find a way to help them. As Secretary of the Treasury… you are in a unique position to oversee multiemployer plans like the Central States Pension Fund, and help us find comprehensive solutions to address this problem… now that you have been confirmed, I would again like to extend an invitation for you to visit my constituents and learn more about the challenges they will face if their pension plan becomes insolvent. I think you’ll find that meeting these workers and hearing their stories will help to put this problem into perspective.”

At Secretary Mnuchin’s January confirmation hearing, McCaskill said: “I have 32,000 people in my state that worked hard for decades, most of them driving trucks, and they planned their lives around their pensions. My question to you is—we can find the bailout for the banks, and we can provide stimulus, and we can do an awful lot of things around here to help a lot of people who have a lot of money. Will you commit to meet with some of the truck drivers from my state so they can look you in the eye and explain to you that the guarantee of their pension? … I want to hear from you that you’re not going to leave these people behind.”

Mr. Mnuchin responded, “What I will say is I will commit to meet with them, and I will commit to working with your office on us figuring out what is an appropriate bipartisan solution to this issue that I appreciate—the pension issue we’ve talked about several times today—is a significant issue.”

In December 2014, Congress approved a sprawling, $1 trillion spending bill—and tucked into that “omnibus” spending bill was a provision allowing for deep cuts to retiree benefits for 32,000 Missourians who participate in the the Central States Pension Fund. McCaskill vocally opposed that legislation, and was the only member of the Missouri Congressional delegation to vote against it. She backed legislation to undo that provision and praised a decision by the Treasury Department to temporarily reject those pension cuts.

McCaskill is a strong supporter and cosponsor of the Keep Our Pension Promises Act, which would repeal the law allowing for massive pension cuts. She has also backed the Pension Fund Integrity Act, to cut excessive executive compensation, stop raises and bonuses for pension fund executives, and prohibit financially troubled pension plans from using plan assets to hire outside lobbying firms.

Last week McCaskill hosted a listening session with retirees affected by the failing Central States Pension Plan to discuss the importance of guaranteeing pension benefits for retired workers.

Full text of the letter HERE.

Visit mccaskill.senate.gov/jobs to learn more about McCaskill’s fight to expand Missouri jobs.

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