The discharge petition to force a vote by the US House of Representatives on H.R.82, legislation to repeal the Social Security WEP and GPO laws, cleared the first hurdle late yesterday. The resolution, H.Res.1410 – Providing for the consideration of the bill (H.R. 82) to amend title II of the Social Security Act to repeal the Government pension offset and windfall elimination provisions, gained the required 218 cosponsors necessary for action.
“The pressure on Congress to finally end WEP/GPO is a direct result of the perseverance of public retirees. Our members refuse to give up and with more than 2.1 million current retirees now harmed by these unfair laws, Congress is forced to act,” said Mass Retirees CEO Shawn Duhamel.
As a reminder, the discharge petition outlines the specific process for how a vote would proceed. The bill cannot be amended. The House would have the option of either holding a straight Yes/No vote on the bill as filed or holding a majority vote to return the measure to committee for further consideration.
What is next?
Now that the threshold has been met the discharge petition has been placed on the discharge calendar where it will be held for seven legislative days, according to the legislative rules. Afterthe seven-day mark, a member (usually one of the sponsors of the resolution) would have to call for a vote which would trigger a two-day requirement for a vote to be scheduled. If the resolution passes, a vote on H.R.82 would automatically be brought to the floor.
As they say, timing is everything. Along with the seven-day hold they are up against a possible government shutdown on October 1st. A vote yesterday on a 3-month short term budget bill failed; however, we anticipate renewed efforts to secure passage next week, ahead of the September 30th budget expiration deadline and the election just weeks away.
“However, lots of work remains to be done before we can declare victory. Passing a bill through the House will only be the first step. Next comes the US Senate. The key is to keep the pressure on,” commented Duhamel.
Should the legislation pass the House, it still faces action by the Senate. S.597 Social Security Fairness Act has 62 co-sponsors, including Senators Markey and Warren; however, there has been no movement to schedule a floor vote. Passage will continue to be up against the time constraints of the current session.