MADISON, Wis. – Today, as President Biden announces a new American Rescue Plan rule that will protect millions of Americans’ pensions – particularly those who would otherwise have seen substantial cuts to their benefits – voters deserve to know that every Wisconsin Republican in Congress voted against this fix.
“While Republican politicians have advocated for a plan that could end the Social Security and Medicare guarantee and put Wisconsinites’ hard-earned benefits on the chopping block, President Biden and Democrats are working to protect Wisconsin retirees and the benefits they spent years earning,” said Democratic Party of Wisconsin Rapid Response Director Julia Hamelburg.
This new pension rule will protect more than 200 multiemployer plans that were on pace to become insolvent in the near future, which could have led to pension cuts for 2-3 million workers and retirees across the country. Thanks to President Biden and Democrats’ American Rescue Plan, pension funds that receive Special Financial Assistance are projected to remain solvent at least through 2051.
Voting against this fix is not the first time that Republican politicians have threatened Wisconsinites’ retirement benefits. The only plan put forward by Senate Republicans could sunset Social Security and Medicare in five years, which Wisconsin retirees have called a “slap in the face” and “terrifying.”