The effort to repeal the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision (GPO/WEP) – a long-time FMA issue brief and 2nd most cosponsored bill in the 118th Congress – suffered a major setback due to a procedural maneuver on November 5. FMA is still working with Representatives Garret Graves (R-LA) and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), the lead sponsors of the bill, and who filed the successful discharge petition in the effort to bring the bill up for an actual vote on the House floor.

The next step in the discharge process was for Graves and Spanberger to trigger a two-day clock for a vote to be scheduled on the House floor on the repeal bill. However, on November 5, members of the House Freedom Caucus used an unattended 7-minute pro-forma session of the House to recognize a unanimous consent (UC) request to lay the GPO/WEP repeal bill on the table, effectively tabling consideration – for now.

With his typical wit, Graves downplayed the Tuesday night action as an inconsequential caper. “Now that this new precedent has been created,” Graves said, “I plan to seek UC to send every American a pony.”

In a statement in support of the underlying repeal, FMA National President Craig Carter said, “This important bill is needed to prevent the unjust withholding of nearly $200 billion from these civil servants in the next ten years, and 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. Support has never been greater for the overdue repeal of both the GPO and WEP, and it is vital to act now.”

Meanwhile, the Senate version (S. 597) surpassed the 60-cosponsor threshold – enough votes to override a filibuster. However, with a mere five weeks remaining in the 118th Congress and a packed legislative agenda – including Fiscal Year 2025 appropriations and the NDAA – it is unclear whether the Senate will have time to act on it.

The Social Security Government Pension Offset law prevents government retirees who receive a government pension, but did not pay into Social Security, from collecting both a government annuity based on their own work, and Social Security benefits based on their spouse's work record. This is unfair to many spouses, especially widows, who often lose the Social Security protection their spouse provided for them. Under current law, a Social Security widow’s benefit is reduced by $2 for every $3 earned if the widow is eligible for a pension based on a public sector job that was not covered by Social Security. According to the Congressional Research Service, as of December 2022, more than 730,000 Social Security beneficiaries had their benefits reduced by the GPO, with 52 percent being widows. No such offset affects spouses receiving pensions from private sector employers.

The Windfall Elimination Provision is another inequity that disadvantages many federal retirees receiving Social Security benefits and a federal pension. It reduces the Social Security benefits federal retirees receive based on the number of years they served in a federal position that did not require their payment of Social Security taxes. According to the Congressional Research Service, as of December 2022, the WEP impacts approximately two million people – roughly 3 percent of all Social Security beneficiaries.