On 12/9/2022, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “The President announced historic relief to protect the hard-earned pensions of hundreds of thousands of union workers and retirees thanks to the American Rescue Plan.” On 12/8/2022, President Joe Biden announced he will pump $36 billion into a union pension plan to prevent drastic benefit cuts for pensioners, just a week after he signed a railroad labor deal opposed by several union organizations.
Biden has declared himself the most pro-union president in history. He filled several positions at the National Labor Relations Board, the nation’s top labor arbiter, with influential union leaders such as Jennifer Abruzzo, a former attorney for the Communications Workers of America. He has pushed Congress to pass the PRO Act, which would end right-to-work laws in more than a dozen states that ban union membership as a term of employment.
The announcement marks the largest federal award for retiree pensions in history and is funded by Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, according to the White House. The $36 billion will go to the Central States Pension Fund, which is for mostly Teamster union members. The $36 billion amounts to about half of the available federal funds for pension relief under the American Rescue Plan. The pension fund, which covers 350,000 members, was at risk of cuts as high as 60%, but the White House said the fund will now be stable until at least 2051.
And then Fox Business had a report today that Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan is on a shortlist to replace Janet Yellen if and when she decides to leave the administration. I’m wondering if you could comment on that at all.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, as Secretary Yellen said herself just last month, she has no plans to leave. It seems to be — that report, to us, seems to be pure speculation.
Reporter: So, we saw the — we saw the Producer Price Index come down a bit, but it’s still above 7 percent. The Federal Reserve Chairman says that core inflation may be moving sideways. We get a CPI inflation reading again next week. So if Americans don’t see significant progress on inflation, does that mean the Inflation Reduction Act — early next year — hasn’t worked?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, it — okay, let’s step back for a second …
Reporter: Yeah, but you had said the inflation — before the midterms, you told me that the Inflation Reduction Act should bring down inflation early next year. So if it doesn’t do that significantly, is that seen as, then, a failure?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, that — first of all, you’re — that’s a bunch of hypotheticals that you’re asking me … You’re bringing up a hypothetical. What — what I said was, again: What we — what was — what was the analy- — analysis that was done by economists. And I just laid out also how we see the Inflation Reduction Act is actually going to help the American people, and that matters. And, you know — you know, I have to say, Ed, you — and just going back to the past several months as well — look, the Inflation Reduction Act was a piece of legislation that was signed by the President that was only passed by Democrats. And what you saw from Republican officials over the past several months is how they wanted to get rid of it …
Reporter: Amidst protests in China against the CCP, and after Apple changed its AirDrop feature for Chinese iPhone users, why was Tim Cook seated at the head table during the last state dinner here at the White House?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have any specifics on — on who was invited, why they were invited. Don’t have that to share with you. As you know, Tim Cook was also in Phoenix, Arizona, when the President was talking about the CHIPS and Science Act. Made a very
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Pro-Union Biden used $36B taxpayer money to bailout union pension fund; KJP Dodges On Inflation Reduction Act Not Bringing Down Inflation