Rep. Cleaver Applauds President Biden Using American Rescue Plan Funding to Shore Up Teamster Pension Funds

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) applauded the announcement from President Biden that he will use funding from the Cleaver-supported American Rescue Plan Act to shore up the Central States Pension Fund and protect the retirement benefits of more than 27,000 Missouri workers and retirees. Rep. Cleaver has long advocated for congressional intervention to protect the Central States Pension Fund, which supports more than 350,000 union retirees. He has held Town Halls with officials from the Department of Treasury, cosponsored and advocated strongly for the Butch Lewis Act, and supported the American Rescue Plan, which included $36 billion to address issues within the Central States Pension Fund.

“When President Biden was elected to the Presidency, he did so with the promise to focus his economic policies on American workers and working-class families, and today’s announcement, once again, makes good on his promise to create an economy that works for working people,” said Congressman Cleaver. “Because of this funding from the American Rescue Plan, tens of thousands of Missouri workers and retirees can rest a little easier tonight knowing that they will receive the full pension they have earned through their lifetime of hard work. After years of fighting for this result in Congress, the joyful and elated response I’ve received from labor leaders in Missouri has made it all worthwhile. I’m proud to have played a part in protecting these pensions, and I’ll continue doing everything I can in Congress to support Missouri workers.”

Congressman Cleaver has been working on behalf of retirees on this issue since 2015. In 2016, Cleaver held a Town Hall with officials from the Department of Treasury to address concerns and get answers for Missouri retirees. In 2017, Congressman Cleaver delivered a letter to President Trump calling on the former President to take immediate action on the pension crisis. Cleaver has been a cosponsor of the Butch Lewis Act since its introduction, and helped pass the bill in the House of Representatives in 2019. In 2021, Rep. Cleaver supported the inclusion of funding to protect pensions in the American Rescue Plan Act, which he then helped pass into law, making way for President Biden’s announcement today.

Without federal assistance, Teamster members could have seen their benefits reduced by an average of 60% starting within the next few years.

Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Blue Springs, Grain Valley, Oak Grove, North Kansas City, Gladstone, Claycomo, and all of Ray, Lafayette, and Saline Counties. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee; Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development, and Insurance; member of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress; member of the Committee on Homeland Security; and a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus.