National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)
International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF)
United States Conference of Mayors (USCM)
Fraternal Order of Police (FOP)
National Association of Counties (NACo)
National Education Association (NEA)
National League of Cities (NLC)
International City/County Management Association (ICMA)
National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO)
National Association of State Auditors Comptrollers and Treasurers (NASACT)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA)
International Public Management Association for Human Resources (IPMA-HR)
National Conference of State Social Security Administrators (NCSSSA)
National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems (NCPERS)
National Council on Teacher Retirement (NCTR)
National Association of State Retirement Administrators (NASRA)
December 11, 2015
VIA FACSIMILE: (202) 224-2499
The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Majority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Majoriy Leader McConnell:
On behalf of the national organizations listed above, representing state and local governments,
elected officials, employees and retirement systems, we are writing to express our strong
opposition to public pension requirements contained in the Puerto Rico Assistance Act of 2015
(S. 2381). These provisions are not limited to the territory of Puerto Rico, but impose a federal
mandate on all state and local governments in areas that are the fiscal responsibility of sovereign
States and localities, and are conflicting, administratively burdensome and costly.
The provisions are not germane to the underlying legislation, nor do they protect benefits, save
costs or improve retirement system funding. They also have neither been introduced this
Congress as stand-alone bills nor received consideration under regular order, including in the
many hearings pertaining to Puerto Rico.
State and local government retirement systems are established and regulated by state laws and, in
many cases, further subject to local governing policies and ordinances. State and local
governments have and are taking steps to strengthen their pension reserves and operate under a
long-term time horizon. Since 2009, every state has made changes to pension benefit levels,
contribution rate structures, or both. Many local governments have made similar modifications to
their plans. A compendium of information that corrects many misperceptions regarding the
financial condition of these governments and their retirement plans can be found here: State and
Local Fiscal Facts: 2015.
Federal interference into the fiscal affairs of state and local governments is neither requested nor
warranted. Therefore, we strongly urge the exclusion of provisions impacting state and local
government retirement systems from legislation relating to Puerto Rico assistance or any other
legislation under consideration.
If you have any questions or would like additional information, please feel free to contact any of
our organizations’ legislative staff listed below. We would be more than happy to meet with your
office to discuss this important matter further.
Sincerely,
Jeff Hurley, NCSL, (202) 624-7753
Barry Kasinitz, lAFF, (202) 737-8484
Larry Jones, USCM, (202) 293-2352
Timothy Richardson, FOP, (202) 547-8189
Michael Belarmino, NACo, (202) 942-4254
Alfred Campos, NEA, (202) 822-7345
Carolyn Coleman, NLC, (202) 626-3000
Elizabeth K. Kellar, ICMA, (202) 962-3611
Bill Johnson, NAPO, (703) 549-0775
Cornelia Chebinou, NASACT, (202) 624-5487
Ed Jayne, AFSCME, (202) 429-1188
Emily Swenson Brock, GFOA, (202) 393-8467
Neil Reichenberg, IPMA-HR, (703) 549-7100
Maryann Motza, NCSSSA, (303) 318-806
Hank Kim, NCPERS, (202) 624-1456
Leigh Snell, NCTR, (540) 333-1015
Jeannine Markoe Raymond, NASRA, (202) 624-1417