Legislation that would restore the lost retirement benefits of some 20,000 Delphi salaried retirees across the U.S., including many in the Mahoning Valley, is headed to a vote in the House now that it’s gotten past a procedural, but key, hurdle.

The bipartisan-backed Susan Muffley Act on Friday cleared the House Rules Committee, setting up a vote that could happen as soon as next week.

It would require the U.S. Treasury to make up the difference between the partial retirement benefits the retirees were given by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation — the insurer of last resort for the nation’s private retirement plans — when it took control of the pensions after Delphi’s bankruptcy and what they were originally due.

Moving forward then, the pensioners would receive their full pension.

“Delphi salaried retirees are people who played by the rules. They worked hard and they got the rug pulled out from them, and that’s not right,” said U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint, Mich., to the committee.

This latest move comes after an association of Delphi salaried retirees who sued the PBGC in 2009 had their 13-yearlong legal battle to try to win back the involuntarily terminated pensions come to an end when in January the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case.

Delphi, formerly Packard Electric that at one time was part of General Motors’ parts division, filed for bankruptcy in October 2005 and emerged four years later. While Delphi was in bankruptcy protection in 2009, it relinquished responsibility for all its employee pensions to PBGC.

In its own government-planned bankruptcy in 2009, it was determined GM would fully fund union pensions for Delphi employees. The salaried retirees weren’t as fortunate and have argued their pensions should have been covered as well.

“After 13 long years of effort, it appears the House will vote next week on a bill that will restore the pension plans of all those who have not been receiving a top-up. The bill cannot fix everything; it can’t give back the houses that were lost due to foreclosure; it can’t put families that broke up over the financial stress back together; it can’t give back the 13 years salaried retirees couldn’t travel or enjoy the retirement they earned,” said Bruce Gump of Howland, chairman of the Delphi Salaried Retirees Association.

“But it can restore the pension plan, and that means a lot to all those who saw their pensions reduced, to the surviving spouses who had to endure the loss of the retiree and then the loss of the earned pension benefit, and those who saw a much larger reduction due to age versus what would have happened under the Delphi plan rules,” Gump said.

The Rules Committee spent about 30 minutes Friday debating the legislation that Pennsylvania Republican Fred Keller said would set a poor precedent.

“If Congress gives special treatment to these plans covered by today’s bill, the other 5,000 single-employer plans also managed by the PBGC will pressure Congress to do the same for them,” Keller said. “Is Congress then expected to top-up every future terminated plan? These are serious implications that cannot be ignored.”

Kildee, however, said the Delphi situation has a specific set of facts that distinguishes itself from other troubled pensions.

“This was a case of the federal government being directly involved through the bankruptcy of General Motors in decisions that specifically targeted these employees. Their pension was a healthy pension system. Those assets were used for other obligations being discharged through that bankruptcy. These were singled-out workers, whereas other folks had their pensions supported,” Kildee said. “It’s something that the federal government has its fingerprints all over, and that is why we believe this legislation is an important fix.”

rselak@tribtoday.com