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Biden to Ohio, spotlighting rescued pensions for millions
AP News via Yahoo NewsWASHINGTON (AP) — Seeking to boost his standing with frustrated blue-collar voters, President Joe Biden on Wednesday will use the backdrop of a union training center in Cleveland to tell workers his policies will shore up troubled pension funding for millions now on the job or retired.
Hurt politically by inflation at a 40-year high and damages wrought by the pandemic, the president is anchoring his message to workers in the former election bellwether of Ohio. The Buckeye State has been trending strongly Republican with Donald Trump easily carrying it twice, and this is Biden's fourth visit as president as he labors to personally reverse that electoral tide.
Biden's speech at the Iron Workers Local 17 Training Center is timed to the announcement of a final administrative rule that is tied to his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package from last year. The rule allows troubled multi-company pensions to be made financially whole, ensuring full benefits for 2 million to 3 million workers and retirees.
Details about Biden’s remarks were shared by two administration officials who insisted on anonymity to preview his speech.
The roughly 200 pension plans receiving assistance faced possible insolvency without government aid. Without the full benefits, workers and retirees could struggle to pay for housing, food and other essentials. The financial support should help keep the pension funds solvent for roughly 30 years until 2051.
That's important, several retirees said.
Hurt politically by inflation at a 40-year high and damages wrought by the pandemic, the president is anchoring his message to workers in the former election bellwether of Ohio. The Buckeye State has been trending strongly Republican with Donald Trump easily carrying it twice, and this is Biden's fourth visit as president as he labors to personally reverse that electoral tide.
Biden's speech at the Iron Workers Local 17 Training Center is timed to the announcement of a final administrative rule that is tied to his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package from last year. The rule allows troubled multi-company pensions to be made financially whole, ensuring full benefits for 2 million to 3 million workers and retirees.
Details about Biden’s remarks were shared by two administration officials who insisted on anonymity to preview his speech.
The roughly 200 pension plans receiving assistance faced possible insolvency without government aid. Without the full benefits, workers and retirees could struggle to pay for housing, food and other essentials. The financial support should help keep the pension funds solvent for roughly 30 years until 2051.
That's important, several retirees said.
Bill DeVito, 73, was an iron worker for almost 50 years before retiring a decade ago. When his pension was cut 40% in 2017, he said, “it was devastating."
"The thing of it is, we had a lot of politicians over the years saying, hey, we’ll try to help you, we’ll do everything we can, and nobody’s ever done anything for us until Joe Biden come along,” he said. He said that other Ohio Democrats in Washington kept pushing, too.
Jeffrey Carlson, 67, of the Cleveland suburb of North Ridgeville, said that a year before he retired in 2017, he learned his pension would be cut, too.
“I’m grateful for anything that we could get back," he said. "I know I earned it. I worked hard.”
Carlson, a long-time Democrat, said he knows public opinion has turned against Biden, but he still supports the president.
"I think he’s doing what he has to do and trying to make the best of it, and I think he’s looking out for, as a whole, looking out for our side of it, for the working man.”
"The thing of it is, we had a lot of politicians over the years saying, hey, we’ll try to help you, we’ll do everything we can, and nobody’s ever done anything for us until Joe Biden come along,” he said. He said that other Ohio Democrats in Washington kept pushing, too.
Jeffrey Carlson, 67, of the Cleveland suburb of North Ridgeville, said that a year before he retired in 2017, he learned his pension would be cut, too.
“I’m grateful for anything that we could get back," he said. "I know I earned it. I worked hard.”
Carlson, a long-time Democrat, said he knows public opinion has turned against Biden, but he still supports the president.
"I think he’s doing what he has to do and trying to make the best of it, and I think he’s looking out for, as a whole, looking out for our side of it, for the working man.”
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