House
Representative John Boehner
Why
is the White House Still
Stonewalling Delphi Retirees?
WASHINGTON,
D.C. – "The IRS
remains under fire today for singling out conservative groups and the
president’s political opponents, and rightly so. Americans should never
be
targeted by their government for partisan purposes.
"The
Obama administration was
quick to suggest this was the work of two 'rogue agents' in the
Cincinnati
office, but we now know the harassment of conservative donors began in
Washington. Many other questions, like 'how did it start?' 'how far up
in the
administration did it go?' and 'why did the IRS repeatedly mislead
Congress and
the American people?' still require answers.
"In
the House of
Representatives, we take our responsibility to deliver accountability
to the
American people seriously. So,
as we
press forward with our jobs agenda, we’ll continue working to get to
the bottom
of the IRS abuse, Benghazi and another issue that’s critically
important to
many in the Miami Valley: the Delphi pension scandal.
"As
you may know, thousands of
non-union workers in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, and elsewhere
saw their
retirement savings slashed during the 2009 auto bailout. While the president’s
union allies were protected,
these non-union workers had their pensions cut by as much as 70 percent.
"Working
closely with the
Delphi Salaried Retirees Association, members of the Ohio Delegation
and I have
pressed the Obama administration to turn over information regarding the
decision to top off union employee pensions while terminating non-union
pensions. Still,
the administration
continues to stonewall.
"At
a June 10 field hearing
conducted by Rep. Mike Turner (R-Dayton) and Rep. John Mica (R-FL) at
Sinclair
Community College, former Delphi workers talked about how this pension
scandal
has impacted them and their families.
"'After
the dust of the
frantic 44-day GM bankruptcy had settled, I found myself with zero
health care
and – in my case – a 40 percent pension reduction,' 39-year GM and
Delphi
veteran Tom Rose said. 'My carefully planned retirement was blown apart
at a
point in my life when recovery time and opportunities were limited.'
"Others
renewed calls for the
administration to fully explain its involvement.
"'For
four years now we have
been trying to gain access to records from the PBGC and Treasury…,'
former
Delphi Senior Engineer and Vice-Chair of the Delphi Salaried Retirees
Association Bruce Gump said. 'Yet in spite of promises from everybody
from the
president on down… we have been fought every step of the way.'
"The
last Delphi worker to
testify – former engineer Paul Dobosz – noted the similarities between
the IRS
and pension scandals.
"'Delphi
salaried retirees
aren’t asking for a handout, we are just asking our government to
behave in an
open and honest manner… ,' retired GM and Delphi engineer Paul Dobosz
said.
‘This issue may not garner the widespread attention and front page
headlines
the IRS scandals have generated, but it represents an equally blatant
abuse of
political power.'
"As
the House continues its
work to hold the administration accountable, some on The Left have been
quick
to accuse Republicans of overreaching on these scandals. But our pursuit of the
truth isn’t about
'gotcha games.'
"As
many Delphi non-union
workers will attest, it’s about economic freedom, jobs, and the very
real
implications of an out-of-control government picking winners and losers
– and
we aren’t about to let up."
Boehner
represents Ohio’s 8th
District, which includes all of Butler, Clark, Darke, Miami, and Preble
counties, and the southernmost part of Mercer County. He was first
elected to
Congress in 1990.
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