The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday voted 327-75 to pass the Social Security Fairness Act, bipartisan legislation that would repeal provisions that reduce Social Security benefits for individuals who receive other benefits, such as a pension from a state or local government.
The bill now heads to the U.S. Senate, where the legislation is also expected to pass.
Specifically, H.R. 82, which U.S. Reps. Garret Graves (R-LA) and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) introduced in January 2023, would eliminate the government pension offset (GPO), which in various instances reduces Social Security benefits for spouses, widows, and widowers who also receive government pensions of their own.
The bill also would eliminate the windfall elimination provision (WEP), which in some instances reduces Social Security benefits for individuals who also receive a pension or disability benefit from an employer that did not withhold Social Security taxes.
Currently, the WEP impacts approximately two million Social Security beneficiaries, and the GPO impacts nearly 800,000 retirees, according to the lawmakers.
Graves and Spanberger released a statement on Nov. 12 after the House vote, noting that passage of the bill highlights how “a bipartisan majority… 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.”
The vote, they said, is a step toward providing a secure retirement to the hundreds of thousands of spouses, widows, and widowers who are denied their spouse’s Social Security benefits 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,” the lawmakers said.
Prior to Congress leaving Capitol Hill for the October district work period, Graves and Spanberger filed a discharge petition for H.R. 82, which secured the required 218 signatures needed to force a vote on the bill.
In fact, H.R. 82 has 330 cosponsors in the House, while the companion bill in the Senate, the same-named S. 597, has 62 cosponsors.
Graves and Spanberger, the sponsor and lead original cosponsor of H.R. 82, respectively, introduced the bill in January 2023. In November 2023, they 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, the lawmakers requested that the committee take the next step to eliminate the WEP and GPO by holding a markup on the bill. On Nov. 5, the committee gave the bill unanimous consent and sent it to the full House, which passed it Nov. 12.
“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,” according to their statement. “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 lawmakers also urged the Senate to pass the legislation quickly 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,” they said.