Farmers Weekly Review

By Nick Reiher

Former U.S. Congresswoman and Illinois Senate Majority Leader Deborah Lynn Halvorson-Bush has been nominated by President Biden to be chair and a member of the Railroad Retirement Board.

“I’m very honored President Biden has the confidence in my ability to be part of this board,” said Halvorson-Bush, 66, of Crete.

“I believe I was nominated because of my background in transportation, and, of course, Illinois is the rail hub of the country.”

Headquartered in Chicago, the RRB is tasked with administering retirement benefits, unemployment benefits, and Medicare coverage for the nation’s railroad workers and their families, according to the board’s website.

It is an independent agency in the executive branch of the federal government. The RRB’s primary function is to administer comprehensive retirement-survivor annuities and unemployment-sickness benefits for the nation’s railroad workers and their families, under the Railroad Retirement and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Acts.

As part of the retirement program, the RRB also has administrative responsibilities under the Social Security Act for certain benefit payments and railroad workers’ Medicare coverage.

Halvorson-Bush said if the U.S. Senate confirms the nomination, she would be one of three people on the board. One represents labor, she said, one management, and the chair represents the interests of the people.

“I would be looking out for the interests of the people,” she said. “Along with my transportation background, I believe I’ve done that during my career.”

A graduate of Governors State University, Halvorson-Bush represented Illinois’ 11th District in Congress from 2009 to 2011. While in Congress, she focused on veterans’ affairs, including providing transitional housing for homeless veterans, and providing tax credits for families of disabled veterans.

Prior to serving in Congress, Halverson-Bush served in the Illinois State Senate from 1997 to 2009. In 2005, she was elected as the first female Majority Leader of the Illinois State Senate.

Since her retirement from serving in elected office, she has worked for her husband Jim Bush’s two businesses, American Eagle Steel and American Eagle Logistics, as well as working on several projects related to the supply chain and transportation.

“I had to do that so there would be no conflicts of interest,” Halvorson-Bush said. “I didn’t need to leave until after I would begin working with the board, but I wanted to cut ties as early as possible to make sure there was no conflict.”

In fiscal year 2023, the RRB paid retirement-survivor benefits of approximately $14.0 billion to about 493,000 annuitants, according to its website. The RRB also paid net unemployment-sickness benefits of $62 million to more than 15,000 claimants.

Halvorson-Bush said the nomination already has been months long, including a background check that took three months. She received a call from the White House regarding the nomination on July 11.

“I wanted to keep it low-key,” she said. “I don’t want to jinx it. And there is a long way to go still.”

The next step will be appearing before the U.S. Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee sometime in September. If that committee approves, the nomination would move to the full Senate for confirmation.

She knows she will have support from at least one Senator, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill.

“At my urging, President Biden has made an excellent choice in nominating former Illinois Congresswoman Debbie Halvorson-Bush to serve as Chair of the Railroad Retirement Board,” Durbin said in a press release.

“Congresswoman Halvorson-Bush’s career is steeped in public service, from her time in Congress fighting for veterans to her tenure as the first woman to serve as Majority Leader of the Illinois State Senate.

“She is well-equipped to meet the needs of the nation’s railroad workers and their families as Chair of the RRB. I look forward to supporting her nomination in the Senate.”

Halvorson Bush earned her B.A. and M.A. from Governors State University, where she also taught. She and her husband have four children and six grandchildren.

Nick Reiher is editor of Farmers Weekly Review.