SOCIAL SECURITY
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (KALB) - On November 12, 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives passed House Resolution 82, commonly known as the “Social Security Fairness Act of 2023.”
With a resounding 327 to 75 vote, the U.S. Senate will now take up H.R. 82 before President Joe Biden decides the bill’s future.
H.R. 82 aims to eliminate two Social Security provisions in the U.S., the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). HR 82 was co-authored by Louisiana Republican Congressman Garret Graves and Virginia Democratic Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger.
According to Graves, these two provisions unfairly reduce or eliminate earned Social Security benefits for approximately 2.8 million Americans, who’ve devoted much of their careers to public service, including police officers, firefighters, educators and federal, state and local government employees.
Graves and Spanberger both shared this statement:
“By passing the Social Security Fairness Act, a bipartisan majority of the U.S. House of Representatives showed up for the millions of Americans — police officers, teachers, firefighters, and other local and state public servants — who worked a second job to make ends meet or began a second career to support their families after retiring from public service.
A bipartisan majority of the U.S. House voted to provide a secure retirement to the hundreds of thousands of spouses, widows, and widowers who are denied their spouses’ Social Security benefits simply because they chose careers of service. These tireless advocates have for decades urged their elected representatives to listen to their stories and correct this injustice — and today, a bipartisan majority of the U.S. House voted for them.
For more than 40 years, the Social Security trust funds have been artificially propped up by stolen benefits that millions of Americans paid for and that their families deserve.
The long-term solvency of Social Security is an issue that Congress must address — but an issue that is wholly separate from allowing Virginians, Louisianans, and Americans across our country who did their part and contributed their earnings to retire with dignity.”
“The time to put an end to this theft is now. A broad, bipartisan coalition of 62 Senators have signed on to our bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act — surpassing the majority needed to pass the bill on the U.S. Senate floor and send it to the president’s desk to be signed into law. We encourage Senate leadership to build upon this clear momentum, bring our bipartisan effort up for a vote, and deliver retirement security to Americans who have earned it.”
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