U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown is pushing a new legislative effort to make whole the thousands of Delphi salaried retirees who lost their pensions when the former auto parts supplier went bankrupt, this time as part of a defense spending bill.

Brown on Wednesday announced he introduced the Susan Muffley Act — legislation already approved by the House that would restore the eliminated retirement benefits to about 20,000 people — as an amendment to the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act.

“I will use every tool available to work to restore full retirement benefits for the more than 5,000 Ohioans who earned these pensions over a lifetime of work,” said Brown, D-Cleveland.

In early August, Brown bought the Muffley Act to the Senate floor, seeking unanimous consent — a process that expedites the course of the legislation. He was unsuccessful when Republicans blocked his attempt despite some GOP support, including from U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio.

Then, Brown vowed not to give up the fight for a legislative remedy.

The bill would require the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation — the insurer of last resort for the nation’s private retirement plants — to make up the difference between the partial retirement benefits PBGC already has paid retirees and what they originally were due in one lump sum. PBGC took over the pensions in 2009.

The retirees also would receive 6 percent interest on the retroactive pay to help ease the tax burden.

Then, moving forward, the retirees would receive their full pensions as if they never were disrupted.

The legislation won approval in the U.S. House on July 27 by a 254-175 vote. Thirty-six House Republicans voted in its favor.

The White House also has signaled its support of the bill, as have United Auto Workers, AFL-CIO and AARP. Republican Sen. Todd Young of Indiana and Portman are the Republican co-sponsors in the Senate.

Republicans in the Senate and House opposed the bills because they said, in part, it creates bad precedent that other plans controlled by the PBGC would follow.

Supporters, meanwhile, say the bill is about fairness and restoring the retirement benefits the salaried retirees rightfully earned.

For the group of Delphi retirees, its 13-year legal battle with the PBGC to try to win back the involuntarily terminated pensions ended in January when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider their 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 fund fully union pensions for Delphi hourly employees. The salaried retirees weren’t as fortunate and have argued their pensions should have been covered as well.

rselak@tribtoday.com