Ciscomani Applauds Passage of the Social Security Fairness Act

Currently, some public sector employees, such as educators, firefighters, law enforcement officers, and more are not eligible to receive their full Social Security benefits if they also receive other forms of retirement benefit, such as a pension. H.R. 82 would eliminate the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) from the Social Security Act to ensure those who devoted their career to public service receive the full benefits they earned.  

 

“When our public sector employees retire, they deserve to receive the entirety of the Social Security benefits they paid into,” said Ciscomani. “This legislation would ensure that our public sector employees, like educators, firefighters, law enforcement officers, and more do not have their Social Security benefits unfairly reduced. I was proud to co-sponsor this legislation, sign onto a discharge petition to force a House vote, and support its passage out of the House of Representatives, and I urge my colleagues in the Senate to act.” 

 

Congressman Ciscomani joined H.R. 82 as a cosponsor in April 2023 and it is the most-cosponsored bill of the 118th Congress, garnering 330 cosponsors at the time of its passage.  

 

Background 

 

In September 2023, Ciscomani signed on to a discharge petition to force the House of Representatives to hold a vote on H.R. 82. A discharge petition is a procedural motion in the House of Representatives to force a vote on a bill or resolution even if the measure has not been marked-up by Committee or supported by the Majority party leadership. A discharge petition requires the signatures of a majority of the House to bring the vote to the House floor.   

 

The WEP reduces the Social Security benefits of an individual who receives other forms of retirement benefits, such as a pension, from a job that is not covered by Social Security. The GPO lowers benefits for surviving spouses of a public service employee who collect pension from a job not covered by Social Security. The WEP currently impacts approximately 2 million Social Security beneficiaries, and the GPO impacts nearly 800,000 retirees.