“I believe that making changes to pension retirement benefits in the middle of someone’s employment is wrong,” Turner told a meeting of the House Oversight Committee. “Changing the rules, especially when someone has already been vested in their benefits, is wrong.”
The main change is a new employee contribution requirement at a higher rate of 4.4% of a federal worker’s salary.
Turner was the only Republican to vote against the plan in committee, as he predicted that these GOP changes to the federal worker retirement system will have to be altered before a final vote is taken on a gigantic package of tax and budget plans in the full House.
“I have talked to enough people on the House floor that I do think that this will not be included in the final bill,” Turner added.
The plan set off alarm bells among federal workers and congressional staffers who suddenly might see their retirement benefits chopped — all part of a GOP plan that would save $51 billion over 10 years.
The change could have a dramatic impact on southwest Ohio. Previous reporting by this news outlet found about 83,500 workers in Ohio were employed by the federal government at the end of 2024, about 1.5% of the state’s nonfarm payroll.
According to a Congressional Research Service look at Census estimates, there are about 22,100-plus federal workers living in Turner’s congressional District 10, close to 6% of the overall workforce. (District 10 is Montgomery and Greene counties, plus part of Clark County.) This is higher than any other district in Ohio.
Some modifications were made in the GOP proposal approved Wednesday in committee. For example, instead of immediately moving to a retirement benefit system based on a federal worker’s highest five years of pay — as opposed to the current standard of highest three years — those new provisions would not start in full until Jan. 1, 2027.
Turner’s opposition to federal worker retirement plan changes was one of just a few hiccups this week for GOP leaders in Congress, as they try to forge a package which President Donald Trump likes to call, “one big, beautiful bill.”
In another House committee, Republicans were forced to backtrack Wednesday after opposition to new plans to levy a $20 fee on every passenger vehicle in the United States, proposed as a way to raise money to fund the construction of new roads and bridges.
While that $20 fee was dropped, the GOP will still press ahead with a yearly national fee on electric vehicles of $250, and an annual fee for hybrids of $100. Those would be in addition to any registration payments at the state level.
“I did not come to Congress to take money out of people’s pockets,” said U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes, D-Akron, as Democrats denounced the GOP effort.
Lawmakers in both parties are still waiting for the fine print on key parts of the GOP proposals — mainly provisions dealing with tax cuts, possible cuts in Medicaid, and changes to the SNAP (food stamps) program.
The White House wants the House to vote on the reconciliation package before Memorial Day.
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