The House Education and Labor Committee on Tuesday subpoenaed federal agency heads for obstructing an investigation into $127 million in payments to the Teamsters pension system, which included deceased participants.
House Education and Labor Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-North Carolina) criticized Gordon Hartgensis, director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. subpoena “Two requests for information regarding overpayments” for 3,479 deceased Central States Pension Fund participants were denied.
In November, the PBGC’s Office of Inspector General found that the International Brotherhood of Teamsters pension plan made improper payments after receiving $35.8 billion in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan signed by President Biden. revealed that.
“As the Committee noted in its Feb. 26 letter, the information it seeks is based on H.R. 7135, Ghost Benefits and Overpayments, to ensure that the PBGC meets its obligation to collect in full. Today’s Stop Act (GHOST Act), or similar legislation, is necessary to consider the GHOST Act, or similar legislation.”If overpayments were made under the SFA program, those amounts must be paid,” Fox said. wrote in a letter addressed to.
“The failure of the PBGC to provide response materials is unacceptable. As a result, the Commission must now resort to mandatory proceedings,” he added, giving the agency a deadline of 4 days to submit payment-related documents. It was set as the 9th day of the month.
PBGC Office of Inspector General found In November, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters pension plan was found to have made improper payments after receiving $35.8 billion from the American Rescue Plan.
The office noted that the agency did not consult the Social Security Administration’s full death master file before funding the Teamsters’ pension plan. The pension system includes 350,000 members and is one of the largest multiemployer plans in the country.
On Tuesday, the Government Accountability Office announced: separate report It found that in fiscal year 2023, there were $236 billion in improper payments across 14 federal agencies, excluding the PBGC.
The House Education and Labor Committee has asked PBGC several times to explain the overpayments, as has the Department of Labor. announced I was informed earlier this month that I had to collect the funds.
“At PBGC’s request, the Commission provided two extensions to give PBGC more time to develop responsive materials. Unfortunately, significant gaps remain in PBGC’s response. Furthermore, the responses demonstrate a complete and utter lack of respect for hardworking taxpayers’ money,” Fox said in the letter.
“The Department of Labor’s (DOL) subsequent March 14 statement that multiemployer pension plans are obligated to repay these overpayments came at the eleventh hour, and the PBGC It does not account for the months of wasted resources and delays that occurred. Nor does the DOL’s statement clarify the basis for the PBGC’s position.”
At a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing in November, International Brotherhood of Teamsters President Sean O’Brien called on the group to “refund” the payments.
Hartogensis also appeared at the committee’s March 20 hearing, but his answers were “not satisfactory” to questions about the Teamsters’ pension funds, Fox added.
“For several months, the PBGC has been coordinating with the PBGC Office of Inspector General, the Department of Justice’s Civil Division, and Central States to finalize the terms of the agreement, which includes repayment of $127 million from Central States.” . an agency spokesperson said in a statement.
