Cohen Cosponsors Bill to Protect Public Employee Pensions

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today cosponsored legislation to help protect the pensions and benefits that public service employees—including firefighters and police officers—have worked hard for and earned. The Protecting Employees and Retirees in Municipal Bankruptcies Act of 2014, introduced today by Congressman John Conyers (MI-13), would impose higher standards that local governments must meet before modifying collective bargaining agreements or retiree benefits as well as provide several other protections for retirees and public employees in municipal bankruptcies.

“We should keep our promises to firefighters, police officers, and all citizens who have devoted their lives to serving their communities,” said Congressman Cohen. “They worked hard to protect us, and they have earned the benefits they were promised. I am pleased to join Congressman John Conyers on this important legislation that will strengthen protections for our first responders and all public servants.”

The Protecting Employees and Retirees in Municipal Bankruptcies Act of 2014 is also supported by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), which says that the bill “is badly needed in order to address serious shortcomings in Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy law that were brought to light in the recent Detroit bankruptcy case.”