WASHINGTON, D.C. – 11/13/24 – Congressman Clay Higgins (R-LA) voted to pass H.R. 82, the Social Security Fairness Act, which would repeal the unjust federal laws referred to as the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO).
Congressman Higgins has advocated for this legislation for seven years. In September, Congressman Higgins became the eighth signature on the discharge petition that forced a vote on the House floor. Previously, Congressman Higgins sent letters to Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) of the House Ways and Means Committee and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) urging its passage.
“Congress has frequently fallen short on the will of We, the People, but today was a step in the right direction in restoring righteousness,” said Congressman Higgins. “For years, the halls of the House and Senate have been an echo chamber of empty promises to pass the Social Security Fairness Act, but today, we passed our bill. I now call on the Senate to take up our legislation and pass SSFA, on behalf of all Americans.”
Read the letter here.
Watch Congressman Higgins discuss the importance of H.R. 82 here.
Watch Congressman Higgins advocate for the bill in a House Ways and Means field hearing here.
From The NALC
11/13/24 – Today, in a 327-75 vote, the House passed the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82), legislation that would repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). The WEP and GPO are parts of Social Security law that reduce or sometimes eliminate earned benefits for Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) retirees, including letter carriers.
The vote came after a decades long fight to repeal these unjust provisions. The bill, led by Reps. Garrett Graves (R-LA) and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) has had broad bipartisan support for years, but leadership from both parties have been hesitant to bring the bill to the floor.
“This is a major win for letter carriers and other federal annuitants who have been victimized by the WEP and GPO for decades,” NALC President Brian L. Renfroe said.
“We appreciate Reps. Graves and Spanberger’s steadfast leadership and commitment to finally get this bill to the floor, and we commend every House member who voted “yes” on this critical bill.
“With House passage, we are one step closer to finally righting this wrong that impacts so many CSRS retirees. We must keep up the momentum. NALC calls on the Senate to pass the Social Security Fairness Act as soon as possible and send it to the president’s desk.
“I want to thank every NALC member who lobbied their representative to support H.R. 82. I urge them to keep up the work and contact their senators. It’s time to finish the job.”
