MR. PRESIDENT, I RISE TODAY TO JOIN MY COLLEAGUES IN CALLING FOR ACTION, ACTION TO PROTECT THE HARD-EARNED BENEFITS OF PENSIONERS, HARDWORKING PEOPLE ALL ACROSS MY STATE. I WANT TO THANK MY COLLEAGUE, SENATOR BROWN, FOR ORGANIZING THESE SPEECHES, MY NEIGHBOR TO THE EAST, SENATOR BALDWIN IN WISCONSIN, FOR HER ELOQUENT WORDS ON BEHALF OF THE WORKERS IN HER STATE.
I KNOW HOW IMPORTANT BENEFITS ARE TO WORKERS FIRSTHAND. MY GRANDPA WAS ONE OF MANY CHILDREN AND GROWING UP IN THE IRON RANGE OF MINNESOTA, AND HE LOVED SCHOOL, BUT HE HAD TO QUIT AT AGE 15 TO HELP SUPPORT HIS FAMILY. FIRST HE GOT A JOB AS A TEAMSTER PULLING A CART AND THEN AT A VERY YOUNG AGE HE WENT TO WORK IN THE IRON ORE MINES IN MINNESOTA. HE HAD WANTED TO BE IN THE NAVY. HE HAD WANTED TO SAIL THE WORLD.
INSTEAD HE SPENT HIS ENTIRE LIFE TO SUPPORT HIS EIGHT BROTHERS AND SISTERS AND THEN LATER MY DAD AND MY UNCLE. HE SPENT HIS ENTIRE LIFE WORKING 1,500 FEET UNDERGROUND. HE WOULD GO DOWN THE MINE SHAFT EVERY DAY WITH HIS BLACK LUNCH BUCKET, AND I OFTEN THOUGHT WHAT DID HE THINK WHEN HE WENT DOWN IN THAT MINE SHAFT, OF LIFE AND OTHER THINGS. HE FELT HE HAD AN OBLIGATION, AND THAT OBLIGATION WAS NOT ONLY IMPORTANT TO OUR FAMILY, WHICH SOMEHOW ENDED ME UP IN THE SENATE, BUT IT WAS ALSO IMPORTANT TO THE OBLIGATION TO OUR COUNTRY THE. WHEN YOU GO BACK TO WORLD WAR II, IT WAS THE IRON ORE THAT BUILT OUR COUNTRY, OUR FACTORIES, OUR SKYSCRAPERS, AND OUR SHIPS AND TANKS THAT WON THAT WAR.
THAT'S WHAT MY GRANDPA DID, AND IT WAS DANGEROUS BACK THEN. MY GRANDMA WOULD ALWAYS TELL ME HOW YOU WOULD HEAR THIS WHISTLE GO OFF, AND IT MEANT THAT SOMEONE WAS EITHER VERY HURT OR KILLED IN THE MINES. AND ALL OF THE WIVES WOULD GO AND STAND OUTSIDE THAT MINE TO SEE WHAT MINER WAS GOING TO BE BROUGHT UP INJURED OR WORSE. MY DAD REMEMBERS SEEING THE COFFINS IN THE CHURCH IN ELIE LINED UP OF MINERS THAT HAD BEEN KILLED. THIS WASN'T THAT LONG AGO. WHEN SOMEONE DOES SOMETHING LIKE THAT FOR THEIR FAMILY, FOR THEIR COUNTRY, PROMISES THAT WERE MADE TO THEM SHOULD BE KEPT.
BECAUSE MY GRANDPA STAYED IN THAT JOB, OVER TIME THE SAFETY REQUIREMENTS GOT BETTER, THE BENEFITS GOT BETTER, HE WAS ABLE TO GET HEALTH CARE, HE WAS ABLE TO SAVE MONEY IN A COFFEE CAN IN THE BASEMENT OF THE HOUSE SO HE CAN SEND MY DAD AND BROTHER TO COLLEGE. THAT ALL HAPPENED. SO WHEN HE GOT SICK, HE SHOULD BE ABLE TO HAVE HEALTH CARE, RIGHT? WELL, HE DID. HE HAD CANCER. HE HAD HEALTH CARE. WHEN MY GRANDMA GOT OLDER AND LIVED INTO HER LATE 80'S, SHE WAS ABLE TO STAY IN ASSISTED LIVING. THAT HAPPENED BECAUSE THE PROMISES MADE TO THOSE WORKERS WERE KEPT. THE PROMISES MADE TO WORKERS IN MULTIEMPLOYER PENSION PLANS IS SIMPLE, THAT THE PENSIONS THEY HAD EARNED THROUGH YEARS OF HARD WORK WILL BE THERE WHEN THEY RETIRE.
IT IS DESCRIBED AS A 3-LEGGED STOOL, SOCIAL SECURITY, PENSION, AND SAVINGS. A STABLE AND SECURE RETIREMENT RELIES ON ALL LEGGINGS BEING STRONG. BUT SOME MULTIEMPLOYER PENSION PLANS ARE FACING CHALLENGES THAT COULD WEAKEN ONE OF THOSE LEGS. OVER THREE MILLION AMERICANS RELY ON THESE BENEFITS FOR A SAFE AND SECURE RETIREMENT. THE CENTRAL STATES PENSION PLAN IS SUCH A PLAN. IT WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1955 TO HELP TRUCKERS SAVE FOR RETIREMENT. THAT WAS WHILE MY GRANDPA WAS STILL IN THE MINES. TODAY THE CENTRAL STATE PENSION PLAN INCLUDES CAR HAUL, TANK LINE, CONSTRUCTION, CLERICAL, DAIRY, AND TRUCKING INDUSTRIES. IN MY STATE THERE ARE OVER 21,000 WORKERS AND RETIREES IN THE PLAN. THIS AFFECTS WORKERS AND RETIREES FROM ALL OVER THE MIDWEST. I GUESS THAT'S WHY IT'S CALLED THE CENTRAL STATES PLAN. NEARLY 38,000 WORKERS AND RETIREES IN OHIO, 37,000 IN MICHIGAN, OVER 32,000 IN MISSOURI, 25,000 IN WISCONSIN, AND OVER 2,000 IN NORTH DAKOTA. IN FACT, WHEN THIS ISSUE FIRST CAME UP, AND IT WAS RUSHED OVER FROM THE HOUSE, AND WE DIDN'T KNOW THE IMPACT IT WOULD HAVE ON OUR STATES BECAUSE THERE WASN'T A LOT OF THOUGHT PUT INTO HOW THIS WAS DONE INTO HOW IT WAS PART OF A BIGGER BILL, WELL, I VOTED AGAINST THIS BILL. I THOUGHT IF IT'S CALLED CENTRAL STATES, I PROBABLY HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE IMPACTED.
UNFORTUNATELY, THAT WAS RUSHED THROUGH AND PEOPLE DIDN'T HAVE THEIR SAY. IN FACT, SEVEN OF THE TOP TEN STATES IN THE CENTRAL STATES PENSION PLAN ARE MIDWESTERN STATES. IN SEPTEMBER OF 2015, CENTRAL STATES SUBMITTED A PROPOSAL TO THE TREASURY TRO REDUCE PENSION BENEFITS FOR WORKERS UNDER THE PENSION ACT OF 2014. TREASURY REVIEWED THE PROPOSAL, WHICH WOULD HAVE RESULTED IN BENEFIT CUTS FOR OVER 270,000 CENTRAL STATE RETIREES AND WORKERS. SOME OF THESE PENSION CUTS WERE AS HIGH AS 50%, 60%, AND EVEN 70%. IMAGINE SOMEONE WHO HAS SPENT THEIR LIFE DRIVING A TRUCK, SAVING MONEY, AND SUDDENLY ONE DAY THEY FIND OUT THEY ARE GOING TO LOSE 70%-THEIR PENSION. I HEARD FROM PEOPLE ALL OVER MY STATE HOW DEVASTATING THESE PROPOSED CUTS WOULD HAVE BEEN. PEOPLE WERE CONCERNED THAT THEY WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO AFFORD THEIR MEDICATION OR MIGHT HAVE TO SELL THEIR HOUSE. MANY WERE IN THEIR 60'S, 70'S, OR EVEN 80'S, AND ARE NOT ABLE TO GO BACK TO WORK. I STOOD UP WITH MANY OF MY COLLEAGUES AND FOUGHT AGAINST THAT PROPOSAL FOR A SIMPLE REASON, IT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO. WE RAISED SIGNIFICANT CONCERNS ABOUT THE PLAN, AND THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT, IN A MOVE THAT I THINK SURPRISED SOME OF US PLEASANTLY, BUT NOT THOSE WHO ARE ON THE FRONT LINE EVERY DAY, THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT REJECTED THAT PROPOSAL.
WELL, WE TEMPORARILY AVERTED A VERY BAD PLAN GOING INTO EFFECT, THIS ISSUE IS NOT GOING AWAY. THE CENTRAL STATES PENSION PLAN STILL FACES INSOLVENCY BY 2025 AND MORE THAT 70,000 MINNESOTANS ARE FACING FUNDING SHORTFALLS MANY MORE THAN 100 OF THESE PENSION PLANS ARE FACING FUNDING CHALLENGES AND DO NOT HAVE SUFFICIENT PLAN ASSETS. PENSIONERS ACROSS OUR STATE AND OUR COUNTRY DEPEND ON THEIR PENSIONS. PEOPLE LIKE SHERMAN FROM MY STATE IN NORTHERN N MINNESOTA, -- NORTHERN MINNESOTA, WHERE I TALKED ABOUT WHERE MY GRANDPA WORKED IN THE MINES. SHERMAN HAS BEEN WORKING ON THIS AND RAISING IT TO A NATIONAL LEVEL AND WORKERS AND RETIRE EAST ARE LOOKING TO US TO TAKE ACTION. THAT'S WHY I'VE JOINED WITH MY COLLEAGUES TO COSPONSOR THE BUTCH LEWIS ACT, AND I THANK SENATOR BROWN FOR HIS LEADERSHIP ON THIS LEGISLATION. THIS BILL IS A WIN-WIN FOR EMPLOYERS, EMPLOYEES, RETIREES, AND AMERICANS. THE BILL WOULD PUT THE PENSION PLAN BACK ON SOLID FOOTING AND ENSURE THAT THE PLANS COULD MEET THEIR OBLIGATIONS TO RETIREES AND WORKERS FOR DECADES TO COME. THIS WOULD HAPPEN WITHOUT CUTTING A SINGLE CENT FROM THE BENEFITS OUR WORKERS OR RETIREES HAVE WORKED HARD FOR AND PAID INTO THE PENSION PLAN FOR AND BUILT THEIR TREE TIMER AROUND.
THE INTRODUCTION OF THIS ACT HAS BEEN AN IMPORTANT STEP FORWARD IN ELEVATING THE NEED FOR ACTION. AS CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS WORK TO RAISE THE CAP, THE PENSION CRISIS SHOULD BE A FUNDING PRIORITY. IT SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN ANY COMPREHENSIVE BUDGET DEAL. SOMEHOW IN THIS VERY CHAMBER PEOPLE FOUND A WAY TO DO A BUNCH OF TAX CUTS, RIGHT, SOME OF THEM WERE THERE FOR THE MIDDLE CLASS, BUT A LOT OF THEM HELPED THE WEALTHY. SOMEHOW THEY FIND THEIR WAY TO THAT. WELL, THEY BETTER FIND THEIR WAY TO THIS BECAUSE THIS IS IT ABOUT WORKING PEOPLE. WE OWE IT TO ALL AMERICANS WHO PLAYED BY THE RULES AND WORKED HARD THROUGHOUT THEIR LIVES FOR A SECURE PENSION. I STAND TODAY READY TO WORK WITH OUR COLLEAGUES ON THE FLOOR AND ACROSS THE AISLE ON A BIPARTISAN SOLUTION. WE ALL KNOW THAT DELAY ONLY MAKES THE SOLUTION MORE COSTLY. THE TIME IS HERE. WE CAN'T PUT IT OFF ANY LONGER. WE MUST MOVE FORWARD TO GET THIS DONE FOR OUR WORKERS, FOR OUR BUSINESSES, AND OUR COUNTRY. MR. PRESIDENT, I YIELD THE FLOOR.