Spanberger, Graves File Discharge Petition for Social Security Fairness Act, Push to Force U.S. House Vote on Bipartisan Bill to Eliminate WEP & GPO

Spanberger & Graves: “With Broad Support from Lawmakers on Both Sides of the Aisle, We Must Use Every Mechanism Available to Right This Wrong For Millions Of Americans”

The Bipartisan “Social Security Fairness Act” Now Has 326 Cosponsors — Far More Support Than Needed to Guarantee the Legislation Would Pass on the U.S. House Floor

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representatives Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-07) and Garret Graves (R-LA-06) today officially filed a discharge petition and are building support to force a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on their bipartisan legislation to eliminate the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO).

Spanberger and Graves filed a discharge petition to force a vote on the U.S. House floor on their bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act. The legislation would eliminate both the WEP and the GPO, two provisions added to the Social Security Act in 1983 that unfairly reduce or eliminate Social Security benefits for millions of Americans who have devoted much of their careers to public service — including federal employees, police officers, firefighters, and educators. The legislation now has 326 cosponsors — far more than the 218 signatures required on the discharge petition to force the legislation to the floor for a vote.

“For more than 40 years, millions of Americans who paid into Social Security during their careers have been stripped of their retirement benefits — retired police officers who began second careers after retiring from the force, retired teachers who took a summer job, retired federal employees who spent a portion of their careers in the private sector, retired firefighters who worked a second job, or other retired public servants who contributed to Social Security during their careers. We cannot drag our feet on addressing this basic issue of fairness,” said Spanberger and Graves. “Our legislation to eliminate these unjust penalties on public servants is supported by a bipartisan coalition of more than 325 lawmakers — far more than the majority needed for the discharge petition to succeed or for the bill to pass on the U.S. House floor.”

Spanberger and Graves continued, “Our Social Security Fairness Act is the second-most cosponsored bill in the U.S. Congress. With broad support from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, we must use every mechanism available to us to finally right this wrong for millions of Americans who serve our communities, keep our neighbors safe, and keep our country strong. We look forward to our bill’s cosponsors and our colleagues joining us in working to make sure all Americans receive the retirement security they earned.”

BACKGROUND

Spanberger and Graves reintroduced the Social Security Fairness Act in January 2023 at the start of the 118th Congress. In November 2023, Spanberger and Graves urged the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee to hold a hearing on reforms to the WEP and GPO — and a hearing was held later that month. In March 2024, the lawmakers urged the Committee to take the next step to eliminate the WEP and GPO by holding a markup on their bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act. Spanberger and Graves have consistently pushed for a vote on the bill.

Currently, the WEP reduces the earned Social Security benefits of an individual who also receives a public pension from a job not covered by Social Security. For example, educators who do not earn Social Security in public schools but who work part-time or during the summer in jobs covered by Social Security have reduced benefits, even though they pay into the system just like others. Likewise, the GPO affects the spousal benefits of people who work as federal, state, or local government employees — including police officers, firefighters, and educators — if the job is not covered by Social Security. The GPO reduces by two-thirds the benefit received by surviving spouses who also collect a government pension.

The WEP currently impacts approximately 2 million Social Security beneficiaries, and the GPO impacts nearly 800,000 retirees.

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