**VIDEO: Before the vote, Graves & Spanberger spoke on the US floor to urge their colleagues to support the bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act

US Representatives Garret Graves (R-LA-06) and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-07) today released the following statement after a bipartisan majority of the U.S. House of Representatives voted to approve the proposal. Social Security Fairness Acttheir bipartisan legislation to eliminate the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO).

“By passing the Social Security Fairness Acta bipartisan majority of the U.S. House of Representatives stood up for the millions of Americans — police officers, teachers, firefighters and other local and state officials — who worked second jobs to make ends meet or started second careers to support their livelihoods. families after retirement from public service. A bipartisan majority of the U.S. House of Representatives voted to provide a secure retirement for the hundreds of thousands of husbands, widows and widowers who are denied Social Security benefits from their spouses simply because they chose careers in the service industry. These tireless advocates have spent decades urging their elected representatives to listen to their stories and correct these injustices – and today, a bipartisan majority of the U.S. House voted for them. Graves and Spanberger said. “For more than four decades, Social Security trust funds have been artificially propped up by stolen benefits that millions of Americans have paid for and that their families deserve. The long-term solvency of Social Security is an issue that Congress must address — but an issue entirely separate from allowing Virginians, Louisianans and Americans across our country who have done their part and earned their income contributed to retire with dignity.

The lawmakers continued“The time to put an end to this theft is now. A broad, bipartisan coalition of 62 senators has joined our bipartisan coalition Social Security Fairness Act – surpassing the majority needed to pass the bill in the U.S. Senate and send it to the president’s desk to be signed into law. We encourage Senate leadership to build on this clear momentum, bring our bipartisan efforts to a vote and deliver retirement security to Americans who have earned it.”

Before Congress left Capitol Hill for the October district work period, Graves and Spanberger submitted an application for dismissal for them Social Security Fairness Act – which one secured the required 218 signatures They needed to force a vote on their bipartisan legislation that would eliminate both the WEP and the GPO. These two provisions unfairly reduce or eliminate earned Social Security benefits for more than two million Americans who have dedicated their careers to public service – including police officers, firefighters, teachers, and federal, state, and local government employees.

Before passage, Spanberger and Graves spoke on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, along with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, in support of their efforts. Click here to view Spanberger’s comments. Click here to view Graves’ comments.

BACKGROUND

Graves and Spanberger reintroduced the Social Security Fairness Act in January 2023, at the start of the 118th Congress. In November 2023, Graves and Spanberger urged the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee to hold a hearing on the WEP and GPO reforms – and a hearing was held later that month. In March 2024, the lawmakers came the committee urged to take the next step to eliminate the WEP and GPO by keeping a markup on their bipartisan party Social Security Fairness Act. Graves and Spanberger do pushed consistently 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, teachers who do not earn Social Security benefits in public schools but work part-time or during the summer in jobs covered by Social Security have received lower benefits, even though they pay enough quarters into the system to receive benefits. Likewise, the GPO affects the spousal benefits of people who work in federal, state or local government – ​​including police officers, firefighters and teachers – if the job is not covered by Social Security. The GPO reduces by two-thirds the benefit received by surviving spouses who also receive a government pension, often fully offsetting benefits.

The WEP currently impacts approx 2 million Social Security beneficiaries, and the GPO is almost having an impact 800,000 retirees.

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