Floor Vote on H.R. 82 (WEP/GPO Repeal) Likely for November
The bipartisan discharge petition initiated by Rep. Garret Graves, R-La, and Rep. Abigal Spanberger, D-Va, has achieved the required number of signatures to force a floor vote. The Bill, titled “Social Security Fairness Act of 2023,” would, if passed, repeal Social Security’s Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) rules currently affecting benefits for almost 3 million Americans. The bill received broad support in both the House and the Senate and is expected to be addressed post-election. In a post yesterday on their website, the International Association of Fire Fighters recapped the historic nature of this congressional procedure, along with recent field hearings on the Bill and the advocacy efforts to promote its passage. Read the IAFF post here.
Much has been written about these two sections of Social Security, and many legislative attempts have been made to fully repeal both WEP and GPO, with no prior action taken on either. The issue is controversial, to be sure, and there are two sides to the argument. For this reason, the AMAC Foundation has heavily researched the origin of these two troublesome provisions, concluding that the purpose behind their design is often not clearly understood, nor is the way the math works in support of the original purpose. The Foundation offered a publication (WEP and GPO: To Repeal or Not?) to help clarify the matter and conducted a public webinar presenting thoughts on the subject. A recording of the webinar can be viewed on the Foundation website here.