By Alex Moore
After an arduous legislative journey, the House of Representatives is poised to finally vote on the Social Security Fairness Act, H.R. 82.
The Bill:
This bill seeks to repeal two Social Security rules - the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), which impact around 2.8 million retirees. These rules affect non-covered pensions, where Social Security taxes aren't taken out of their pay. WEP cuts benefits for people with a public pension from jobs that don't pay into Social Security, such as some educators, firefighters, and police officers. However, those workers might have prior covered work or worked part-time in the National Guard or during the summer. Even though they've paid their dues, they often end up with lower benefits. Meanwhile, GPO trims survivors and spousal benefits for those with pensions.
In the 1980s, the government established the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) to prevent individuals from double-dipping into public pensions and Social Security. However, these measures reduced benefits and complicated retirement for public servants who are critically important to American communities.
The Legislative Process:
Even with bipartisan support, getting a bill to a vote is difficult. There are hoops to jump through and rules and regulations to follow.
H.R. 82, introduced by Representatives Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) and Garrett Graves (R-LA) in January 2023, faced over 18 months of stagnation due to typical House gridlock. To expedite the process, Spanberger and Graves initiated a discharge petition in September, which allows a majority of House members to compel the Speaker to bring a bill to a vote. The discharge petition quickly got the requisite 218 votes required.
Discharge petitions are a rare legislative tool used to bypass committee inaction and force a vote on a bill. This rarity underscores lawmakers' frustration regarding the stagnation of the Social Security Fairness Act despite strong bipartisan support. Such petitions highlight the challenges of legislative impasse.
Representatives Graves and Spanberger will request that the Speaker schedule the bill for a vote before the full U.S. House of Representatives. According to U.S. House rules, the Speaker has two legislative days to schedule that vote.
The Debate:
Repealing the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) will undoubtedly come with a hefty price tag since it means the government would need to provide full Social Security benefits to those affected. But let's not forget that these folks have been shortchanged all along, even though they've been paying into the Social Security system just like everyone else. This isn't just a numbers game; it's about fairness. While it might cost a pretty penny to make things right, it is a necessary step to address the wrongs faced by our public servants who've dedicated their lives to serving the community.
What's Next:
We encourage you to call, write, or email your Representatives and ask them to support H.R. 82 or thank them if they already do.
If the bill passes the House, it will advance to the Senate for consideration. If the Senate passes the bill without any changes, it will go directly to the President to sign it into law.
If it does not pass, the bill will die in the 118th Congress and represent a major blow to public workers' retirement nationwide, but that doesn't mean the fight is finished. At TSCL, we will lobby for Congress to reintroduce and ultimately pass a version of the bill. And, while we're at it, we'll also push for a minimum 3% COLA, a better index to measure seniors' inflation and fight the taxes imposed on Social Security benefits.
We know that today's seniors deserve Social Security reform, not just for themselves but also for future retirees.
