WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: National Groups Back Discharge Petition for Social Security Fairness Act, Spanberger & Graves Push to Force U.S. House Vote on Bipartisan Bill to Eliminate WEP & GPO

The Bipartisan “Social Security Fairness Act” Would Eliminate Two Provisions of the “Social Security Act” That Unfairly Reduce Benefits for Millions of Americans Who Have Devoted Much of Their Careers to Public Service — Including Federal Employees, Police Officers, Firefighters, & Educators

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representatives Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-07) and Garret Graves (R-LA-06) today 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), an effort that is supported by several organizations representing the interests of public servants in Virginia, Louisiana, and across the United States.

The bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act 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.

The Spanberger-Graves push to force a vote on the Social Security Fairness Act is backed by the National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), National Active and Retired Federal Employees (NARFE), American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), International Union of Police Associations (IUPA), American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), American Postal Workers Union (APWU), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), National Education Association (NEA), and other national organizations representing America’s public servants.

“Throughout this Congress, the FOP and IAFF have worked with Republican and Democratic Members and their staff to build support for and pass H.R. 82 — which is one of the most bipartisan bills in the House. Our intent was to move this bill through regular order, and for the past year and a half, we have held good-faith negotiations with the Committee on Ways and Means to do just that. However, with the end of the 118th Congress approaching, our members demand Congress repeal this denial of the Social Security benefits which they paid for and earned. We urge all House members to sign your discharge petition and end this shameful denial of benefits for retired public servants,” said Patrick Yoes, National President, National Fraternal Order of Police & Edward A. Kelly, General President, International Association of Fire Fighters. “A successful discharge petition will give the House an opportunity to vote on a bill which is already cosponsored by 75% of Representatives. The FOP and IAFF, representing hundreds of thousands of public safety employees in every region of the country, strongly support your efforts to get 218 signatures on this discharge petition.”

“The GPO regularly reduces – and in many cases eliminates any – Social Security spousal or survivor benefits for affected public servants. The WEP can reduce the monthly Social Security benefit by as much as $587 compared with the normal benefit formula. 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. This type of service should not be punished, yet this is exactly what the WEP and GPO do,” said William Shackelford, National President, National Active and Retired Federal Employees. “This is a question of values, basic fairness and justice. The WEP and GPO have deprived millions of public servants of the benefits they rightfully earned, causing financial hardship and uncertainty in retirement.”

“AFGE is doubling down on our support for a recent congressional push to repeal two controversial rules that have caused public servants to lose two-thirds or even the entire amount of their Social Security benefits,” said Everett Kelley, National President, American Federation of Government Employees. “AFGE urges Congress to repeal the GPO and WEP because GPO penalizes public servants who receive a government pension and are also eligible for Social Security benefits of their spouse. This provision reduces survivors’ benefits for spouses, widows, and widowers.  WEP penalizes those who have paid into Social Security at work but also receive a pension or a disability benefit from a prior employer that did not withhold Social Security payroll taxes, such as older federal retirees working under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), state and local government employees including teachers, firefighters, and law enforcement officers.”

“On behalf of the International Union of Police Associations (I.U.P.A.), I am pleased to announce our support of your thoughtful and timely discharge petition to force a vote on the Social Security Fairness Act,” said Sam A. Cabral, International President, International Union of Police Associations. “Many of our members have paid into Social Security for their entire careers and following their retirements. They are penalized by having earned and paid for benefits denied to them.”

“On behalf of the 1.4 million members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), I want to thank you for your efforts to advance the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82), which would fully repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP),” said Edwin S. Jayne, Director of Federal Government Affairs, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. “The GPO and WEP cuts truly harm public pensioners and their spouses who paid thousands of dollars into Social Security over decades. Simply because they contributed to and are also receiving a public pension, the SSA denies them the full Social Security benefits they would otherwise be entitled to because of the current unfair GPO and WEP statutory provisions. We support your efforts to end this injustice permanently and urge Congress to enact the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82) and ensure that monthly benefits are paid in full for this and future generations.”

“WEP and GPO were designed to address perceived inequities in the Social Security formula but have instead led to unjust reductions in benefits for workers, including many postal workers, who have diligently contributed to both Social Security and the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). The repeal of these provisions is long overdue,” said Mark Dimondstein, President, American Postal Workers Union. “These individuals paid Social Security taxes and earned their benefits. However, their earned Social Security benefits are significantly reduced or even eliminated because of WEP and GPO. Such penalties not only undermine the retirement security of those who have served our nation, but also dissuade future generations from pursuing careers in the Postal Service or federal workforce as a whole.”

“As a nation, we must ensure fairness in retirement security for our retired teachers and
public employees. There is no doubt that addressing the WEP and GPO will increase the
likelihood of would-be second-career teachers joining the education workforce and wouldbe public employees entering public service. It would also right a wrong that has gone
unaddressed for decades despite wide bipartisan support for doing so,” said Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers. “It is time to take concrete action to repeal the WEP and the GPO. Our retirees and our communities will be better for it.”

“On behalf of the 3 million members of the National Education Association and the 50 million students they serve, we thank you for leading the effort to secure an up-or-down vote on the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82) before the end of the 118th Congress,” said Marc Egan, Director of Government Relations, National Education Association. “NEA strongly supports H.R. 82 because it fully repeals the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)—one of our members’ top priorities. We also strongly support H. Res. 1364, which allows for immediate consideration of H.R. 82. The GPO and WEP unfairly reduce — or eliminate — the Social Security benefits of more than 2.8 million hard-working Americans, including many educators. They also discourage people from becoming educators — especially those in mid-career who stand to lose Social Security benefits they have already earned. That, in turn, can adversely affect the quality of the education our students receive. We deeply appreciate your support for H.R. 82 and stand ready to help advance this vitally important legislation.”

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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