WASHINGTON – Today, Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcomittee Chairman Bob Good (R-VA) sent a letter to Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) Director Gordon Hartogensis demanding answers surrounding the agency’s refusal to recover the $127 million in taxpayer money it sent to fund pensions for at least 3,479 deceased participants in the Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Fund (Central States Pension Fund).
In the letter, Foxx and Good write:“The [Committee] is investigating reckless mismanagement at the [PBGC] that led to sending a $127 million overpayment to one multiemployer plan. This overpayment raises the concern that more overpayments exist. … Amazingly, in its response to the report, PBGC asserted that this payment ‘should not be subject to recovery actions.’ In the same vein, the Central States Pension Fund claims it neither owes nor intends to pay back these taxpayer dollars. By all appearances, PBGC intended to shift taxpayer dollars to the Central States Pension Fund in an unauthorized windfall and refuses to get this money back.”
The letter continues: “PBGC’s dismissive attitude toward taxpayer waste and abuse defies common sense. When asked whether the Central States Pension Fund, which includes nearly 350,000 Teamster retirees, should refund this money to PBGC, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters president, Sean O’Brien, stated…‘I’ll go on record as saying if someone was given something that they weren’t entitled to, they should refund it.’”
The letter concludes:“Taxpayers rightfully expect agencies like PBGC to take the necessary measures to ensure that their funds are protected and spent wisely. Instead, PBGC’s reckless disregard of prudent steps is a case study of waste and abuse. The Committee intends to conduct robust oversight of PBGC’s negligence, including possible testimony before the Committee.”
