Fifty-one Democratic lawmakers have asked the GAO to investigate the financially troubled Central States pension fund’s investment decisions.
Ten Democrats in the Senate and 41 in the House requested on June 20 that the Government Accountability Office review the Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Fund’s investment decisions going back to 1982, when the fund came under the supervision of a court-ordered consent decree.
The requests seek to determine if there was any wrongdoing that led to the fund’s severe financial woes. The fund has projected it will be insolvent in 10 years or less.
The request, which the GAO is expected to agree to, comes about six weeks after the Treasury Department rejected the fund’s application to cut participants’ benefits in an attempt to avoid insolvency.
The GAO is already investigating the Labor Department’s supervision of the fund in response to Sen. Charles Grassley’s (R-Iowa) request.
The request was spurred by Ohio congresswomen Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), who introduced legislation last year to address the fund’s anticipated future insolvency. In March, Kaptur, along with Rep. Rick Nolan (D-Minn.), called for an investigation into the fund’s finances.
Kaptur and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced companion bills last year ( S. 1631, H.R. 2844) that call for the repeal of the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act’s benefit cut provisions.
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SOURCE: BNA
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