Brown Applauds Establishment of Trust That Will Help Delphi Retirees Get Health Care Benefits
Brown Introduced Legislation That Would Establish a VEBA Trust for Delphi Retirees
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today applauded a decision by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York that will pave the way for the establishment of a Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association (VEBA) which will provide Delphi retirees with a tax credit to purchase private health benefits. The VEBA will also be offered to retirees of other auto parts manufacturers who lost their health and pension benefits when their companies entered bankruptcy
“Thousands of retirees in Ohio dedicated their careers to working for Delphi and General Motors. The establishment of a Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association will help these retirees—many of whom are continuing to experience economic hardship following the collapse of their former employer—afford private health coverage to replace the benefits that were lost during bankruptcy,” Brown said. “The next step is to make whole those retirees who have yet to receive the pensions they earned and deserve.”
Last Congress, Brown and Rep. Tim Ryan (OH-17) introduced legislation that would create a Voluntary Employees Beneficiary Association (VEBA) to provide health coverage to Delphi salaried and union hourly workers. They also led a bipartisan group of nine Senators and 24 Representatives from Ohio, Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, and New York in a letter to the President calling for the federal government to restore fairness for Delphi retirees and minimize the economic effect of the pension loss on their communities. Brown also invited a representative of the Delphi Salaried Retirees Association to testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (HELP) in October 2009. In December 2009, Brown and Ryan testified on behalf of the Delphi retirees before the House Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee (HELP).
Last Congress, Brown also cosponsored legislation that would have curbed abuses that deny employees and retirees of their pensions when businesses collapse. The Protecting Employees and Retirees in Business Bankruptcies Act would make several changes to Chapter 11 bankruptcy law, emphasizing worker and retiree interests when companies file for bankruptcy.
Tomorrow, the President will sign legislation introduced by Brown to extend the Trade Adjustment Assistance, which helps workers displaced by foreign trade train for new jobs, as well as the Health Coverage Tax Credit. To help American workers get back on their feet and allow for the rebound of the manufacturing sector, Brown’s legislation extended Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) until 2013. TAA ensures that workers who lose their jobs and financial security as a result of globalization have an opportunity to transition to new jobs and emerging sectors of the economy.
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