We Must Repeal the Wep and Gpo

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. RUIZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of older Americans in my district to call for the repeal of the windfall elimination provision and the government pension offset.

For far too long, the WEP and GPO provisions have wrongfully penalized our Nation's public servants who have paid into Social Security by working second or even third jobs. That means that public servants in my district, like Fran, a retired schoolteacher from San Jacinto, are seeing their Social Security cut because of bureaucratic red tape. She wrote to me and told me that her Social Security benefits have been reduced by $500 per month. Fran deserves better.

Our Nation's retired teachers, police officers, and firefighters deserve better, too. After a lifetime of hard work and paying into Social Security, there is no justification for them to miss out on their earned income in their golden years. We have an obligation, a responsibility, to take care of them and ensure they receive the benefits that they have earned through years of hard work.

We must pass the Social Security 2100 Act to finally eliminate the WEP and GPO provisions, strengthen Social Security, and give our Nation's seniors a much-needed increase in benefits. This repeal is long overdue. Our seniors cannot afford to wait any longer for the fairness, relief, and peace of mind that they deserve. In Support of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. RUIZ. Mr. Speaker, as chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, I rise today to call on the Senate to stand with our Nation's farmworkers and pass H.R. 1603, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, immediately.

Yesterday, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus brought together over 20 key national and regional organizations that advocate for farmworkers who, despite carrying the burden of injuries and illnesses during the pandemic, kept our country fed.

We discussed injustices that our campesinos face when it comes to healthcare, education, housing, workers' rights, and immigration. Together, we are working together to craft meaningful solutions to these challenges that will help our Nation's farmworker communities thrive.

An immediate solution is for the Senate to pass the bipartisan Farm Workforce Modernization Act that the House has passed. We need 10 Republican Senators to agree and pass the Farm Workforce Modernization Act out of the Senate to make this much-needed legislation into law.

Right now, from vineyards in California to fields in the Midwest and ranches in the South, growers are concerned about an unstable workforce and a labor shortage. Many farmworkers toil in the fields with uncertainty and fear of being deported and separated from their families. The COVID-19 pandemic has only heightened these concerns.

Unfortunately, this uncertainty and these labor disruptions are contributing to the destabilization of our farms and to higher food prices across America.

We need the Farm Workforce Modernization Act to bring certainty and solutions for growers, farmworkers, and their families.

Now, more than ever, we must stabilize and modernize our farm workforce, keep families together, and secure a pathway to citizenship for our essential and vital farmworkers.

This Congress, the CHC recognized these urgent needs and led the charge to get this bipartisan bill passed out of the House.

Now, I repeat, we just need 10 Republican Senators to get on board so that we can pass this out of the Senate and make it law.

To them I say, Let's get it done.

To our Nation's farmworkers, I say, We stand with you. We fight for you. The CHC is doubling down. We will never stop fighting for our farmworker communities. We will fight ``with strength,'' ``con puno y fuerza,'' to ensure that their labor rights, immigration status, and access to education, healthcare and housing are secure.

Together, we stand firm in our resolve and strong in our fight to protect farmworkers, our vital workforce, and their access to healthcare, education, housing rights, and citizenship.

As the proud son of farmworkers, I stand before this body today to let our farmworkers know, ``Together, we can. Yes, we can.'' ``Juntos podemos. Si se puede.''

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source