The pension protection bill is named in honor of Butch Lewis, who died in December 2015, and was an important leader in the pension protection movement. His widow, Rita Lewis, has carried on the fight and was a featured speaker at the Washington DC press conference.

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) held a press conference at Local 377 in Youngstown, Ohio to announce he and Congressman Tim Ryan (D-OH) will introduce a bill that would create an office inside the U.S. Treasury called the Pension Rehabilitation Administration. The bill, if passed, would provide loans to pension funds in critical or declining status to guarantee payments of promised pension benefits. Monies would be raised by U.S. Treasury issuing bonds that would be purchased by private investors. 

The U.S. Treasury announced it has approved pension cuts for 35,000 retirees and active Teamsters covered under the New York State Teamsters Pension Fund. The cuts will take place effect on October 1.