Federal Managers Association

Press Release

• FEDERAL MANAGERS ASSOCIATION CELEBRATES SUCCESSFUL EFFORT TO BRING FAIRNESS TO SOCIAL SECURITY – December 23, 2024

• Alexandria, VA – In the early morning hours of Saturday, December 21, the U.S. Senate passed the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82), FMA-endorsed legislation that repeals the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). This follows the successful November vote in the House of Representatives on this bipartisan legislation, sponsored by Representatives Garret Graves (R-LA) and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), sending the bill to President Biden’s desk for his signature. FMA National President Craig Carter made the following comments on passage in the Senate:

  “On behalf of the managers and supervisors currently serving or retired from the federal government, and whose interests are represented by the Federal Managers Association (FMA), we applaud the Senate for voting to bring fairness to millions of Social Security beneficiaries. The monumental, landmark vote is the culmination of decades of work to repeal these odious provisions that callously reduce or eliminate Social Security benefits for millions of public servants and their beneficiaries.

  “We are grateful for the tireless work of so many advocates who have poured an extraordinary amount of effort into this momentous achievement. We recognize Reps. Graves and Spanberger, our champions in the House, who will leave this chamber with a remarkable accomplishment. We also appreciate Sens. Sherrod Brown, Susan Collins, and Bill Cassidy, for leading the charge in the Senate, and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer for bringing the bill to the floor in the 118th Congress.

  “FMA members toiled for many years, walking the halls of Congress to build support for this important bill. The Social Security Fairness Act will prevent the unjust withholding of nearly $200 billion from these civil servants in the next ten years. It is difficult to put into words the tragedy of the benefits that have been earned but kept from these public servants dating back to the 1980s, but as we enter the holiday season of 2024, we rest easier knowing Congress came together to provide this long-overdue relief for the public servants impacted by the GPO and WEP. The civil servants impacted by these provisions have been deprived of what they’ve earned for far too long.

  “This is a day to celebrate for the Federal Managers Association and its members, as well as policemen, firemen, teachers, and all public servants, who will no longer be severely penalized because they chose to serve our country as public servants.”

##