FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                              CONTACT: Joshua Gillespie
March 31, 2010                                                                                           (317) 848-0201

Rep. Burton, Oversight Republicans Step up the Pressure in Their Fight for Equity for Delphi Retirees

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Today Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN-05), along with other GOP members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, stepped up their pressure on General Motors (“GM”) Chief Executive Officer Ed Whitacre Jr. to release all records and communications between General Motors, and the Federal Government regarding GM’s decision to discriminate against non-union workers while spending billions on union pensions.

“The Executives of General Motors with the tacit or explicit approval of the Obama Administration – the majority owner of General Motors – deliberately denied more than 21,000 salaried Delphi retirees nationwide the pension benefits they were promised.  As I have said repeatedly since we launched this investigation, in mid-2009, that the American people, especially the thousands of Hoosier families who have been impacted by this decision, and whose tax dollars are being used to pay the supplemental funds to the Delphi union workers, deserve a full and transparent explanation from all parties involved as to why their sacrifice was necessary while the pension benefits of Delphi’s 46,000 union workers were protected.

“For eight months GM and the Administration have stonewalled our requests for information on this subject as well as the subject of plant and dealership closures; and what information they have provided, has left us with far more questions than answers.  The American people invested $53 Billion in General Motors to keep the company afloat and they deserve to know if GM is making sound business decisions or decisions based on inappropriate political influence.  Today’s letter is a reminder to GM and the Administration that we are not going away and we are not going to rest until all of our questions are answered.”

The following is the letter sent by Rep. Burton and the Oversight Republicans:

March 31, 2010

Mr. Ed Whitacre Jr.
Chief Executive Officer
General Motors Corporation
300 Renaissance Center
Detroit, MI 48243

Dear Mr. Whitacre:

On July 22, 2009, Ranking Member Issa wrote to former General Motors Co. (“GM”) CEO Frederick Henderson expressing concern that GM may be making business decisions based on inappropriate political interference and requested responses to a number of questions and documents on plant and dealership closures.  While you answered some of his questions in your formal response, dated September 8, 2009, you failed to provide documents necessary to the Committee’s investigation. 

Following his last letter, a number of news reports have implied that the U.S. Department of the Treasury politicized the Delphi bankruptcy, securing supplemental payments for Delphi’s unionized employees while Delphi’s salaried employees were forced to accept payments set by the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation.  When questioned about its disparate treatment of Delphi employees and retirees, Tom Wilkinson, spokesman for GM, stated that it agreed to supplement Delphi union employees and retirees because it had promised to do so in 1999.  It did not supplement Delphi non-union employees and retirees because it “isn’t something that GM has any control over” and “GM doesn’t have the legal obligation nor does it have the money to re-fund those pensions.” 

As stated in Ranking Member Issa’s previous letter, the politicization of GM’s operations will almost certainly hurt the American taxpayers by reducing the likelihood that the company will ever become profitable and have any chance of repaying the taxpayers’ $51 billion bailout of GM.  The American people have a right to know that their money is being spent wisely and is not being used to satisfy the narrow interests of individual politicians or special interest groups.  Therefore, we write to reiterate and expand upon Ranking Member Issa’s request for information.  To assist the Committee with its investigation, please provide the following documents:

1.    All records and communications between GM and the President’s Automotive Task Force, the United Auto Workers, any Member of Congress or other public official, referring or relating to the closure of any GM facility, including but not limited to GM manufacturing plants, dealerships, and subsidiaries, between November 1, 2008 and March 31, 2010;

2.    All records and communications between GM and the President’s Automotive Task Force, the United Auto Workers, any Member of Congress or other public official, referring or relating to a decision to reopen a GM facility that had previously been closed or idled, including but not limited to GM manufacturing plants, dealerships, and subsidiaries, between November 1, 2008 and March 31, 2010;

3.    All records and communications between GM and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the President’s Automotive Task Force, the United Auto Workers, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, Delphi Corporation, Delphi Holding, any Member of Congress or other public official, referring or relating to retirement or pension benefits for GM or Delphi Corporation employees, between November 1, 2008 and March 31, 2010; and

4.    All current collective bargaining agreements covering GM employees and those in force in 1999.

We respectfully request that you provide the requested information no later than Wednesday, April 13, 2010.

See attached letter