Baton Rouge Reporter

U.S. Representatives Garret Graves (R-LA-06) and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-07) have announced plans to file a discharge petition to force a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on their bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act when Congress reconvenes next month. The legislation aims to eliminate the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), provisions that reduce or eliminate Social Security benefits for many public service workers.

The bill has garnered support from 325 cosponsors, surpassing the 218 signatures required on the discharge petition to compel House Leadership to bring it to a vote. Graves and Spanberger stated, “For more than 40 years, millions of Americans — police officers, teachers, firefighters, and other local and state public servants — have been stripped of their Social Security benefits as an unjust penalty for devoting much of their careers to serving their communities and fellow Americans.”

They continued, “Our Social Security Fairness Act is supported by a broad, bipartisan coalition of more than 325 lawmakers — far more than the majority necessary for the discharge petition to succeed or for the bill to pass on the U.S. House floor. We look forward to our colleagues joining us in removing these unjust penalties on millions of Americans who support our neighbors, protect our communities, and keep our country strong.”

The WEP reduces earned Social Security benefits for individuals receiving a public pension from jobs not covered by Social Security. The GPO affects spousal benefits for government employees not covered by Social Security, reducing by two-thirds the benefit received by surviving spouses with a government pension.

Graves and Spanberger reintroduced the act at the start of the 118th Congress in January 2023 and have since urged action from the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee.

The WEP impacts approximately 2 million beneficiaries, while nearly 800,000 retirees are affected by the GPO.

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