Bicameral, Bipartisan Support for Extension of HCTC
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- March 10 2014
Portman (OH)
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Brown (OH)
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Turner (OH)
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Ryan (OH)
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Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH), members of the Senate Committee on Finance, along with U.S. Reps. Mike Turner (R-OH) and Tim Ryan (D-OH) led a letter signed by 28 lawmakers to Congressional leaders pushing for Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC) to be extended, an issue of particular importance to retired United Steelworkers and Delphi salaried retirees struggling to maintain affordable healthcare.
Today’s letter was signed by (in order of signatures): Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH-10), Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH-13), Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), Sen. Dan Coats (R-IN), Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS), Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL-6), Rep. Kerry Bentivolio (R-MI-11), Rep. Susan Brooks (R-IN-5), Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH-1), Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY-27), Rep. Gregg Harper (R-MS-3), Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY-26), Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH-6), Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH-14), Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-9), Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI-5), Rep. Dan Maffei (D-NY-24), Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-TX-16), Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY-25), Rep. Steve Stivers (R-OH-15).
The joint letter calls for leaders of the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee to attach HCTC to any bill reported out of these committees. HCTC, which assists struggling Americans with their health bills, expired January 1, 2014.
Thank you to all those who came together to support Delphi salaried retirees!
Reply Filed in Support of Motion to Dissolve Stay
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- March 1 2014
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN SOUTHERN DIVISION
In Case No. 2:09-cv-13616, Dennis Black, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, Defendant, the following document was filed on February 28, 2014:
PLAINTIFFS’ REPLY IN SUPPORT OF MOTION TO DISSOLVE PARTIAL STAY AND IN OPPOSITION TO MOTION TO STRIKE
PBGC Files Motion to Strike DSRA Motion To Dissolve Partial Stay
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- February 20 2014
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN SOUTHERN DIVISION
In Case No. 2:09-cv-13616, Dennis Black, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, Defendant, the following document was filed on February 5, 2014:
PBGC MOTION TO STRIKE OR DENY PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION REQUESTING THAT JUDGE MAJZOUB DISSOLVE THE PARTIAL STAY OF HER AUGUST 21, 2013 ORDER
Surreply In Opposition To Treasury’s Motion To Quash
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- February 13 2014
IN THE U.S. DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
United States Department of Treasury Petitioner, v. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, Interested Party, v. Dennis Black, et al., respondents; case no. 1:12-MC-00100-EGS
RESPONDENTS’ SURREPLY IN OPPOSITION TO THE TREASURY’S RENEWED MOTION TO QUASH
Responding to Judge Sullivan's recent order, respondents including DSRA filed a surreply for the hearing on April 7, 2014, regarding The Treasury's Renewed Motion to Quash.
Motion Filed Requesting To Dissolve Partial Stay
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- February 7 2014
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN SOUTHERN DIVISION
In Case No. 2:09-cv-13616, Dennis Black, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, Defendant, the following document was filed on February 5, 2014:
PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION REQUESTING JUDGE MAJZOUB DISSOLVE THE PARTIAL STAY OF HER AUGUST 21, 2013 ORDER
DSRA and U.S. Treasury to appear in DC Court on April 7
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- January 31 2014
U.S. District Court, District of Columbia
By Order dated January 29, 2014, Judge Emmet G. Sullivan has scheduled a hearing regarding the U.S. Treasury Motion to Quash the DSRA subpoena for Treasury documents. A hearing on Treasury's Renewed Motion to Quash will be held on Monday, April 7, 2014 (updated Feb 13)
Portman Urges Extension of Key Tax Credit to Help Delphi Retirees Maintain Affordable Health Coverage
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- January 17 2014
 Sen. Portman |
Push Comes at Crucial Finance Committee Hearing
Washington, D.C. – January 16, 2014, U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio), a member of the Senate Committee on Finance, urged Committee members to extend the Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC), an issue of particular importance to Delphi Retirees struggling to maintain affordable healthcare.
Today’s comments follow a December Finance Committee hearing where Portman introduced a bipartisan amendment at the Committee’s mark-up of health legislation to extend the HCTC for two years. After debate on Portman’s amendment, which was cosponsored by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Portman secured a commitment from the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee to work toward extending the HCTC when Congress renews Trade Adjustment Assistance this year. This was the first commitment from Senate leaders to work toward extending the HCTC, which expired on January 1, 2014.
Sen. Portman: New Year Brings New Concerns for Delphi Retirees
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- January 11 2014
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Sen. Portman |
In his weekly column on January 10, 2014, Senator Rob Portman (OH) again highlights the ongoing issues facing Delphi salaried retirees facing both pension reductions and the increased cost of health care insurance with the loss of HCTC.
– Senator Portman's Weekly Column –
Across the country, Americans are celebrating the promise of a new year. But for 20,000 families of Delphi salaried retirees that lost their pensions in 2009 because of the actions of the Obama Administration, their new year is starting out under a cloud.
In the summer of 2009, as the government took GM into bankruptcy, the Obama Administration terminated thousands of Delphi salaried retirees and their pensions. These 20,000 salaried retirees, ranging from shop-floor supervisors and salespeople to engineers and office managers, spent many years at Delphi, a major employer and economic engine in towns across Ohio from the Mahoning Valley to the Miami Valley. They earned their pensions the American way, through hard work and dedication. Because of one political decision, all that hard work vanished into thin air.
Now many of these families are struggling to make ends meet. Like so many Americans who continue to face challenges in this difficult economy, they have very little margin in their budgets for unexpected expenses. Many Delphi retirees and their families depend on the Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC) to secure affordable health insurance. The HCTC was designed to help people who have experienced job loss and who, like former Delphi employees, have had their defined benefit pension plans taken over by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). Often the HCTC serves as an important bridge for older Americans until they become eligible for Medicare benefits, covering 72.5 percent of their costs. But on January 1, 2014, that tax credit expired.
Status of our Fight for our Pensions
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- January 5 2014
We continue to win in the courts at every critical juncture as our legal battle moves into its fifth year. Simply stated, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's unnecessary termination of our pension plan in 2009 violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) because:
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The PBGC went ahead and seized our plan without seeking the required approval of a federal district court;
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The PBGC made no provision for substantial safeguards of the interests of retirees and our beneficiaries, as the PBGC is required to do. Instead, the PBGC released liens against Delphi's foreign assets that would have helped protect retirees' interests;
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Delphi Corp, as the Plan Administrator, acted not as a fiduciary in the interest of retirees and beneficiaries, as required, but rather because it was being pressured by the federal government to terminate the plan as part of the government's orchestrated effort to restructure the U.S. auto industry as expediently and cheaply as possible.
The PBGC also violated our Fifth Amendment Constitutional right of due process when it terminated our plan without giving salaried retirees meaningful notice and an opportunity to defend our interests in a federal district court hearing.
Plaintiff Motion filed: Memo in Opposition to The Treasury’s Renewed Motion to Quash
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- October 28 2013
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
In case No. 1:12-mc-00100-EGS: UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY Petitioner, v. PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION, Interested Party, v. DENNIS BLACK, et al., Respondents.,
the following document was filed on October 25, 2013:
the following document was filed on October 25, 2013:
MEMORANDUM IN OPPOSITION TO THE TREASURY’S
RENEWED MOTION TO QUASH
RENEWED MOTION TO QUASH
This document includes a large number of references and exhibits which provide an insight into the substance of the Delphi salaried retirees' fight for recovery of their pensions.
