Obama Administratoin Attempts to Limit State Pension Reforms

California could lose transportation funding due to federal regulations

The Obama administration is using the federal government's financial clout to attempt to weaken public employee pension reforms passed last year by the state of California. In particular, it is holding up transit project funding for California to try to force state officials to dilute those reforms.

This is unacceptable. States must to be able to decide their own terms and scope of their collective bargaining agreements, just as they determine the terms and funding for their pension programs.

They are on the hook for funding their public employee pension obligations, for drawing on taxpayers and retirement plan participants to contribute to the pension plans. The federal government is not on the hook, and should never be on the hook.