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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) said after her “twice requests for information regarding overpayments” to 3,479 deceased Central States Pension Fund members were denied. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation Director Gordon Hartogensis was subpoenaed.
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 is seeking is based on H.R. 7135, Ghost Benefits and Overpayments Today, to ensure that the PBGC can meet its full collection obligations. GHOST Act, or similar legislation.”If overpayments were made under the SFA program, those amounts must be paid,” Mr. Fox wrote to Mr. Hartgensis. I wrote this in a letter.
“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.
The PBGC’s Office of Inspector General found in November that the International Brotherhood of Teamsters pension system 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 system. The pension system includes 350,000 members and is one of the largest multiemployer plans in the country.
On Tuesday, the Government Accountability Office released another report showing $236 billion in improper payments across 14 federal agencies, excluding the PBGC, in fiscal year 2023.
The House Education and Labor Committee has asked PBGC several times to explain the overpayments, and the Department of Labor announced earlier this month that the funds would need to be recovered.
“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.
Mr. Hartogensis also appeared at the committee’s hearing on March 20, but his answers were “not satisfactory” to questions about the Teamsters’ pension funds, Mr. 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.
“In testimony before the House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions last week, PBGC Director Gordon Hartogensis spoke about how the PBGC resolved the issue and the consequences for the deceased participants. It was fully explained that the funds from the program would be recovered by PBGC.”
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