U.S. Representatives Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-07) and Garret Graves (R-LA-06) today released the following statement after a bipartisan majority of the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass the Social Security Fairness Act, their bipartisan legislation to eliminate the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO).

“By passing the Social Security Fairness Act, a bipartisan majority of the U.S. House of Representatives showed up for the millions of Americans — police officers, teachers, firefighters, and other local and state public servants — who worked a second job to make ends meet or began a second career to support their families after retiring from public service. A bipartisan majority of the U.S. House voted to provide a secure retirement to the hundreds of thousands of spouses, widows, and widowers who are denied their spouses’ Social Security benefits simply because they chose careers of service. These tireless advocates have for decades urged their elected representatives to listen to their stories and correct this injustice — and today, a bipartisan majority of the U.S. House voted for them,” said Spanberger and Graves. “For more than 40 years, the Social Security trust funds have been artificially propped up by stolen benefits that millions of Americans paid for and that their families deserve. The long-term solvency of Social Security is an issue that Congress must address — but an issue that is wholly separate from allowing Virginians, Louisianans, and Americans across our country who did their part and contributed their earnings to retire with dignity.”

The lawmakers continued, “The time to put an end to this theft is now. A broad, bipartisan coalition of 62 Senators have signed on to our bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act — surpassing the majority needed to pass the bill on the U.S. Senate floor and send it to the president’s desk to be signed into law. We encourage Senate leadership to build upon this clear momentum, bring our bipartisan effort up for a vote, and deliver retirement security to Americans who have earned it.”

Before Congress left Capitol Hill for the October district work period, Spanberger and Graves filed a discharge petition for their Social Security Fairness Act — which secured the required 218 signatures needed to force a vote on their bipartisan legislation that would eliminate both the WEP and the GPO. These two provisions unfairly reduce or eliminate earned Social Security benefits for more than 2 million Americans who’ve devoted their careers to public service — including police officers, firefighters, educators, and federal, state, and local government employees.

BACKGROUND

Spanberger and Graves reintroduced the Social Security Fairness Act in January 2023 at the start of the 118th Congress. In November 2023, Spanberger and Graves urged the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee to hold a hearing on reforms to the WEP and GPO — and a hearing was held later that month. In March 2024, the lawmakers urged the Committee to take the next step to eliminate the WEP and GPO by holding a markup on their bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act. Spanberger and Graves have consistently pushed for a vote on the bill.

Currently, the WEP reduces the earned Social Security benefits of an individual who also receives a public pension from a job not covered by Social Security. For example, educators who do not earn Social Security in public schools but who work part-time or during the summer in jobs covered by Social Security have reduced benefits, even though they pay into the system for enough quarters to receive benefits. Likewise, the GPO affects the spousal benefits of people who work as federal, state, or local government employees — including police officers, firefighters, and educators — if the job is not covered by Social Security. The GPO reduces by two-thirds the benefit received by surviving spouses who also collect a government pension — often offsetting benefits entirely.

The WEP currently impacts approximately 2 million Social Security beneficiaries, and the GPO impacts nearly 800,000 retirees.