Ciscomani Supports Effort to Force House Vote on the Social Security Fairness Act 

WASHINGTON - U.S. Congressman Juan Ciscomani (AZ-06) signed on to the discharge petition to force the House of Representatives to hold a vote on the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82).  

Currently, public service employees, such as law enforcement officers, teachers, educators, 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 Social Security benefits they earned. 

“Our public sector employees dedicated their careers in service to their fellow Americans, and when they retire, they deserve to receive the entirety of the Social Security benefits they paid into,” said Ciscomani. “Far too often, I have heard from educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and more who are frustrated that their Social Security is being unfairly reduced and demand Congress take action to address this issue. I signed onto this discharge petition to force the House of Representatives to vote on this commonsense, bipartisan legislation to ensure that our public service employees receive the full Social Security benefits they earned.” 

Congressman Ciscomani joined H.R. 82 as a cosponsor in April 2023 and it is the most-cosponsored bill of the 118th Congress, garnering 327 cosponsors to date. 

Background 

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. 

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