I’m committed to protecting and strengthening Social Security for Ohio workers. https://t.co/1rUrndyQUC
— Sherrod Brown (@SherrodBrown) September 11, 2024
Representatives Abigail Spanberger and Garret Graves filed a discharge petition on Tuesday to force a vote on the Social Security Fairness Act in the House of Representatives. The bipartisan bill aims to eliminate the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), which reduce Social Security benefits for millions of public service workers, including federal employees, police officers, firefighters, and educators. The legislation has garnered support from 326 cosponsors, far more than the 218 signatures needed on the discharge petition to bring it to the floor for a vote.
Spanberger and Graves reintroduced the bill in January 2023 and have consistently pushed for a vote on it.
The Social Security Fairness Act is getting closer to a vote! With bipartisan supporters in both the House and Senate, two lawmakers have filed a discharge petition pushing for a floor vote on the bill that would repeal WEP/GPO: https://t.co/BPpHTbEmeF
— The American Postal Workers Union – APWU (@APWUnational) September 11, 2024
“For more than 40 years, millions of Americans who paid into Social Security during their careers have been stripped of their retirement benefits. We cannot drag our feet on addressing this basic issue of fairness,” said Spanberger and Graves in a joint statement.
New discharge petition just dropped from GOP Rep. Garret Graves and Dem Rep. Abigail Spanberger.
Democrats are bullish on this one because the underlying bill, the Social Security Fairness Act has 326 co-sponsors including 100+ Republicans.https://t.co/snyPyddrQN
— Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) September 10, 2024
The WEP reduces the earned Social Security benefits of individuals who also receive a public pension from jobs not covered by Social Security, impacting approximately 2 million beneficiaries.
Discharge petition for WEP repeal
The GPO affects the spousal benefits of federal, state, or local government employees if their job is not covered by Social Security, affecting nearly 800,000 retirees.
The National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE), a long-time advocate for repealing WEP and GPO, argues that these provisions are unfair to public servants and cause financial hardship in retirement. NARFE is urging all House lawmakers to sign the discharge petition. “These penalties result in thousands of dollars in lost benefits every year simply because these workers chose to serve their nation, state, or local community,” said NARFE National President William Shackelford.
The Social Security Fairness Act has also gained growing attention in the Senate, with Senators Sherrod Brown and Susan Collins, the original cosponsors, urging Senate leaders to move the legislation to a floor vote. With 62 bipartisan cosponsors, the lawmakers believe the bill is well-positioned to overcome a filibuster and move quickly. Spanberger and Graves emphasized the broad support for the bill and their commitment to ensuring retirement security for public servants.
They look forward to their colleagues joining them in working to make sure all Americans receive the retirement benefits they earned.
- CNBC.”Bipartisan group of lawmakers wants to eliminate Social Security rules affecting public employees. What could happen next”.
- House.”Spanberger, Graves File Discharge Petition for Social Security Fairness Act, Push to Force U.S. House Vote on Bipartisan Bill to Eliminate WEP & GPO”.
- FederalNewsNetwork.”Lawmakers file discharge petition, aiming to force floor vote on WEP, GPO bill”.