Just one week after Election Day, the stars aligned on Capitol Hill. By a vote of 327-75, the US House of Representatives passed legislation (HR82) fully repealing the unfair Social Security Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) laws. All nine members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation supported the passage of HR82 and have worked closely with our Association for many years to end the WEP and GPO laws. If approved by the US Senate and signed into law by President Joe Biden prior to the end of 2024, the bill will fully repeal both the WEP and GPO. Current retirees now impacted by the WEP or GPO would see their Social Security benefit restored to the full amount that each retiree is eligible to receive from the effective date of the law forward. And future retirees also would receive their full Social Security benefits without any reduction. While we envision that the repeal would take some months to implement, the current draft of the legislation sets the effective date as January 1, 2023. If that date is not changed by the Senate, retirees now impacted by WEP or GPO would likely receive a retroactive payment to the 1/1/23 date, once the law is implemented.
FOCUS NOW ON THE SENATE
Now that the bill is before the Senate, we believe that momentum is in our favor. However, we say that with a healthy dose of cautious optimism. As we have previously reported, for a Social Security bill to pass the Senate it requires a minimum of 60 votes (out of 100 US Senators). Currently, 61 sitting US Senators are on record supporting full repeal of WEP/GPO. This includes 45 Democratic, 13 Republican, and 3 Independent Senators.
In past sessions, the Senate Republican leadership under Senator Mitch McConnell strongly opposed full repeal. Without Republican support, there was no path forward to success in the Senate – which is the reason why our attention had shifted to reform rather than repeal in previous Congressional sessions.
However, with the political landscape shifting and new Republican leadership taking power in the Senate, there may now be an opening to pass a full repeal bill through both branches of Congress. That said, we do not yet know the position of incoming Republican Leader John Thume of South Dakota. While Thume is not a cosponsor of S597 (the Senate full repeal bill), he has not been outspoken on the issues and has not taken a public position.
Mass Retirees, together with our public employee union allies here in Massachusetts and with groups from across the country, have called on Senate leaders to bring HR82 or S597 to the floor for a vote without delay. With the Senate scheduled to adjourn for the year on December 20th, time is running short.
Within hours of HR82 passing the House on November 12th, Association officers were in direct contact with Massachusetts Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey. Both support full repeal and are pushing for the bill to come to the Senate floor ASAP. Members, living across the country, are strongly advised to contact your two local US Senators and urge them to please support full repeal of WEP and GPO. This is particularly important for those members living in states represented in the Senate by Republicans.
Several members have reached out asking for either a form letter or talking points. We do not believe form letters or fixed talking points are effective. Our experience shows that canned statements can often be counterproductive.
The best form of grassroots advocacy is to speak from the heart, be direct, and keep it simple. Introduce yourself as a public retiree living in the state the Senator represents. Explain that you earned and paid for a Social Security benefit that has been unfairly taken from you. And state that the WEP or GPO has caused you financial harm in retirement. Ask that they please support and prioritize the passage of HR82 into law in 2024.
It goes without saying, but this is the best opportunity public retirees have ever had to bring an end to the WEP and GPO. Related legislation has never made it out of committee, never mind making it to the floor for a vote.
Mass Retirees openly opposed the creation of WEP/GPO when the laws were created in 1983. Our Association has remained directly involved in the national effort to repeal these laws for the past 41 years, even during times when it seemed that much of the country had moved on.
Our Association’s close collaboration with our friends, the Texas Retired Teachers Association (TRTA), helped to resurrect the issue and keep it on the Congressional radar screen over the past decade. And while a deal to bring relief to our collective members sadly remained out of reach, there’s no question that our persistent work increased national awareness of the unfairness of WEP/GPO and helped lead to the groundswell of national support for change.