Social Security Fairness Act of 2023
Floor Speech
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Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 82) to amend title II of the Social Security Act to repeal the Government pension offset and windfall elimination provisions.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 82
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Social Security Fairness Act of 2023''. SEC. 2. REPEAL OF GOVERNMENT PENSION OFFSET PROVISION.
(a) In General.--Section 202(k) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 402(k)) is amended by striking paragraph (5).
(b) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Section 202(b)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 402(b)(2)) is amended by striking ``subsections (k)(5) and (q)'' and inserting ``subsection (q)''.
(2) Section 202(c)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 402(c)(2)) is amended by striking ``subsections (k)(5) and (q)'' and inserting ``subsection (q)''.
(3) Section 202(e)(2)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 402(e)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ``subsection (k)(5), subsection (q),'' and inserting ``subsection (q)''.
(4) Section 202(f)(2)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 402(f)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ``subsection (k)(5), subsection (q)'' and inserting ``subsection (q)''. SEC. 3. REPEAL OF WINDFALL ELIMINATION PROVISIONS.
(a) In General.--Section 215 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 415) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (7);
(2) in subsection (d), by striking paragraph (3); and
(3) in subsection (f), by striking paragraph (9).
(b) Conforming Amendments.--Subsections (e)(2) and (f)(2) of section 202 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 402) are each amended by striking ``section 215(f)(5), 215(f)(6), or 215(f)(9)(B)'' in subparagraphs (C) and (D)(i) and inserting ``paragraph (5) or (6) of section 215(f)''. SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. The amendments made by this Act shall apply with respect to monthly insurance benefits payable under title II of the Social Security Act for months after December 2023. Notwithstanding section 215(f) of the Social Security Act, the Commissioner of Social Security shall adjust primary insurance amounts to the extent necessary to take into account the amendments made by section 3.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak on H.R. 82, the Social Security Fairness Act of 2023, which fully repeals Social Security's windfall elimination provision and government pension offset.
The WEP and GPO are two Social Security policies that adjust benefits for workers who receive a pension from jobs that were exempt from Social Security payroll taxes, frequently police officers, firefighters, teachers, and other public servants. These two provisions affect around 4 percent of all Social Security beneficiaries, more than 60 percent of whom are concentrated in 10 States.
These two policies were put in place more than four decades ago to prevent workers with earnings that were exempt from Social Security payroll taxes from getting more generous treatment from Social Security than workers who spent their whole careers contributing to Social Security. Unfortunately, these policies still result in overly generous benefits for some while unfairly penalizing others.
This Congress, the Ways and Means Committee has held more hearings on WEP and GPO than any other Congress over the past 20 years.
At our first hearing, held at a fire station in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, we heard directly from American retirees who have been affected by these flawed provisions, which took most of them completely by surprise.
At our second hearing, we identified that there are alternatives to the current WEP and GPO formulas, using data which wasn't available when those two provisions were put in place 40 years ago, which would provide all beneficiaries with a fair benefit based on their actual earnings.
Mr. Speaker, while the Social Security Fairness Act repeals the flawed WEP and GPO, it is far from being a perfect solution and does nothing to replace them with a fair formula.
Unfortunately, without a replacement, this bill is projected to cost Social Security almost $200 billion over the next 10 years and expedite Social Security's insolvency by about 6 months. When that happens, it is projected that all beneficiaries, not just those affected by the WEP and GPO, will receive a 20 to 25 percent benefit cut.
The WEP and GPO are flawed, but they were put in place for a reason: to try to fairly account for workers holding jobs both outside and inside the Social Security system.
I think everyone agrees they have done an imperfect job in treating all workers fairly, and that is certainly something we need to fix. However, to get rid of them without a replacement potentially trades unfair treatment for preferential treatment.
Like many of the Members who support this legislation, I share the goal of providing real relief to those who are harmed by these unfair Washington rules, which is why it is unfortunate that this legislation had to come to the floor this way. I would have much rather had a bipartisan solution that came to the floor through regular order that both repealed this formula but also replaced it while holding retirees and current workers harmless. It is why I appreciate that while the gentleman could have filed a Consensus Calendar motion for H.R. 82 more than 460 days ago, Representative Garret Graves instead chose to work in good faith with the committee to find an alternative that is fully paid for.
Unfortunately, Democrats and key stakeholders were ultimately unwilling to come together and identify a real bipartisan solution that would protect both those harmed by the WEP and GPO and the Social Security trust fund, which all beneficiaries rely on.
Mr. Speaker, if Members don't want to be right back here next Congress, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to work with us to fix this issue moving forward and protect the retirement security of all American seniors.
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Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, America's public servants deserve to be treated fairly by Social Security, and all of America's seniors deserve access to the benefits that they have earned and to live out their retirement with dignity. These truths are not mutually exclusive.
We owe it to those Americans who dedicated their careers to serving the public that they are not treated unfairly because of a mistake Congress made decades ago. We also have a duty to the millions of seniors on Social Security not impacted by GPO or WEP to put in place a legislative fix that protects their benefits.
I will commend my colleague and good friend, Congressman Graves, for his tireless work on behalf of these seniors and encourage all of my colleagues to consider how this legislation will affect their constituents one way or another as they vote.
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Mr. SMITH of Missouri.
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Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
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