Steady Progress Continues in Fight to Repeal WEP, GPO

The Social Security Fairness Act of 2023, H.R. 82/S. 597, which would fully repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO), is closing in on a supermajority of support in the House of Representatives.

As of press time, H.R. 82, introduced by Reps. Garret Graves, R-LA, and Abigail Spanberger, D-VA, in the House had reached 284 cosponsors, marking a significant milestone in the 118th Congress for NARFE’s fight to pass the bill into law. H.R. 82 is now only 6 cosponsors shy of the 290 cosponsors needed to trigger the House Consensus Calendar rule process that would require either committee advancement or a floor vote. At the same time last session, the House bill had just 167 cosponsors. As of June 22, H.R. 82 had the third most cosponsors of any bill in Congress.

The Senate companion, S. 597, introduced by Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-OH, and Susan Collins, R-ME, had 44 cosponsors as of June 22, reflecting steady progress in both chambers.

NARFE needs the continued support of its members to advance this legislation. Are you affected by the WEP and GPO, and want to join our efforts? We still need to accumulate more cosponsors to push the bill to a vote. Visit NARFE’s Legislative Action Center at www.narfe.org/ advocacy and click “Legislative

Action Center” to send your lawmaker a letter asking them to cosponsor this bill to finally repeal the WEP and GPO. Just type in your address and our system will choose the pertinent letter for you to send to your lawmaker in the House and Senate.

The WEP and GPO both penalize individuals who have dedicated their careers to public service and their spouses by taking away the Social Security benefits they have earned. The WEP affects more than 2 million beneficiaries, while the GPO affects more than 723,000 people, 48% of whom are widows/widowers and 52 percent of whom are spouses.

—BY ROSS APTER, DIRECTOR, LEGISLATIVE AND POLITICAL AFFAIRS

face a substantial decrease in defense spending from the agreed-upon caps.

Finally, the law includes additional policy provisions: adjustments to work requirement rules (and exemptions) for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, some reforms to streamline environmental permitting for energy projects, and a statutory prohibition on extending the suspension of student loan repayments beyond this summer (when the administration had planned to end its pause).

The good news for NARFE is that the debt limit and budget deal stayed clear of federal retirement and health benefits. And with the threat of default off the table, federal retirement annuities and Social Security benefits will continue to be delivered.

The House passed the bill, H.R. 3746, the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, by a vote of 314-117 on May 31, followed by Senate passage via a 63-36 vote on June 1, with significant bipartisan support in both chambers.

—JOHN HATTON, STAFF VICE PRESIDENT, POLICY AND PROGRAMS