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FMA Washington Report: January 17, 2023
FMA-Endorsed GPO/WEP Repeal Bill Reintroduced

Among the first bills introduced in the 118th Congress was a bill to eliminate the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). FMA supports this bipartisan legislation, sponsored by Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA).

FMA has worked for years on the effort to repeal or mitigate the GPO and WEP, and last year Congress got the closest it ever has to advancing a full repeal. The legislation, also named H.R. 82 in the 117th Congress, received more than 300 cosponsors, or nearly 70 percent of the House of Representatives. While the bill did not receive a vote in the 117th Congress, the newly reintroduced version already has 46 cosponsors.

In a press release, former Rep. Rodney Davis, who championed the bill in several previous sessions of Congress, wrote 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 the 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 just like others. WEP also affects people who move from a job in which they earn Social Security to a job, such as teaching, in which they do not.

“GPO affects the spousal benefits of people who work as federal, state, or local government employees – including educators, police officers, and firefighters – if the job is not covered by Social Security. GPO reduces by two-thirds the benefit received by surviving spouses who also collect a government pension. Nine out of 10 public employees affected by GPO lose their entire spousal benefit, even though their spouse paid Social Security taxes for many years.”

We are unsure when H.R. 82 will be considered in the 118th Congress. However, we are pleased it has been reintroduced. FMA would also support efforts to mitigate both the WEP and the GPO, absent a complete repeal.

To follow the progress of H.R. 82, please click here.

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