Growing Our Base of Support

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Last Updated: Thursday, 03 October 2024 08:08

We certainly were disappointed in mid-September when the Susan Muffley Act (SMA) was not attached as an amendment to the Senate's version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Although SMA wasn’t "germane" to the NDAA, Senate rules permitted Sen. Brown to try to add the amendment.  We have concluded that all the amendments that are included in the NDAA are defense-related, while ours was not.  So we continue the fight.

Sen. Brown's gambit triggered meaningful discussions on Capitol Hill and drew expressions of support from several more key Senators and Representatives.

Multiple sources tell us that some Senate Republicans oppose SMA because they believe that Government should not be involved in private pension plans, and certainly not rescuing them.  Of course, we believe that Government became involved in private pension plans when Congress almost unanimously passed the law that created the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) in 1974.

We also believe that our traditionally well-funded retirement plan didn't need to be rescued in 2009, and doesn't need to be rescued now.  It's about righting a wrong.  And with increased support from key members in the Senate and House — and the election soon behind us — we move forward, a step at a time.