Bill to repeal WEP and GPO advances out of committee

For the first time, a bill to repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset has advanced out of committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. The WEP and GPO are the Social Security offsets that unfairly penalize most teachers, as well as other public employees such as firefighters and law enforcement, in Texas and several other states. Click here for background on these federal provisions.

In a nutshell:

1. HR 82, a bill to repeal the GPO and WEP, was reported out of committee but faces a hard road ahead due to concerns about its costs. The bill includes no provisions to pay for its increases in Social Security benefits.
2. HR 5723 has been lauded by some as a more comprehensive proposal that not only repeals the two offsets but makes other revisions to the Social Security system that would cover the costs. It was discussed as an alternative to HR 82, but was not formally considered and no action was taken.
3. HR 2337, which favorably revises the calculations for the WEP, was also discussed but no action was taken. Some consider this more moderate proposal to be more likely to pass, but many affected employees would not be satisfied with legislation that addresses only one of the two offsets, and that changes the calculation rather than fully repealing the law.

HR 82

HR 82, a bill by Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) to repeal both the GPO and the WEP, was reported out of the House Ways and Means Committee during a committee hearing Tuesday, Sept. 20. This is the first time, to our knowledge, that any bill addressing the GPO/WEP has advanced out of committee. TCTA contacted the Texas congressional delegation in August to ask for their support of this legislation.

The measure faces short timelines; if HR 82 (or any other current legislation) is not passed by the House and Senate by the end of the year, the bill will die and new legislation will have to be filed when the next congressional session begins in early 2023.

Although HR 82 was reported out of committee, it was reported without recommendation – a neutral stance that does not necessarily bode well for its future. More than half of House members have signed on in support of the bill, but despite bipartisan support there is significant concern that HR 82 does not include any provisions that would cover the costs of increasing Social Security benefits for millions of Americans. Those costs are estimated at nearly $150 billion over a 10-year period, and the Congressional Research Service calculates that it would hasten the point at which Social Security funds would be depleted. This may preclude discussion on the House floor, but if the bill is considered, it has enough support to pass in the U.S. House.

The U.S. Senate has always been the larger obstacle for any of the Social Security offset bills. Since less than half of the states have a large segment of affected employees, less than half of the senators have a strong interest in their passage, and it will be difficult to get the 60 votes needed.

HR 5723

HR 5723, by Rep. John Larson (D-CT), was briefly suggested by its author as an amendment to HR 82. The bill, titled “Social Security 2100: A Sacred Trust,” represents a more comprehensive approach to Social Security reform, including repeal of the WEP and GPO. The bill is viewed more favorably by many as it includes provisions to cover the costs of increasing benefits to millions of Americans, but there may not be an appetite right now to tackle broader reform.

The bill would not only repeal the WEP and GPO, but would boost benefits for all Social Security participants, in addition to revising the cost-of-living adjustment formula. The benefit increases would be paid for by increasing the salary cap on which Social Security contributions are made from the current $147,000 to $400,000. The bill ultimately was not amended onto HR 82, and no action was taken on it.

HR 2337

HR 2337 by House Ways and Means Committee Chair Richard Neal (D-MA), was also discussed, but no action was taken. This bill, proposed by Texas Congressman Kevin Brady in previous years, does not repeal either offset, and does not address the GPO at all. It revises the calculation of the WEP to be more fair, to the benefit of most employees who currently are or will be affected by this law. TCTA has supported this legislation, but we have always made clear that full repeal of both offsets is preferable. If repeal is unlikely to pass, this more moderate proposal would still benefit a great number of teachers and other public employees.

HR 2337 also costs the Social Security system around $30 billion over a 10-year period. However, unlike the estimated impact of HR 82, this more moderate proposal was projected by the Congressional Research Service not to have a significant effect on the Social Security trust funds’ actuarial balance.

Take action

We encourage you to contact your representatives in Congress (enter your address to find out who represents you) and share your thoughts on these proposals.

Support in Texas

The following Texas representatives are co-sponsors of HR 82:

• Colin Allred (D)
• Michael Burgess (R)
• John Carter (R)
• Joaquin Castro (D)
• Michael Cloud (R)
• Henry Cuellar (D)
• Lloyd Doggett (D)
• Jake Ellzey (R)
• Veronica Escobar (D)
• Pat Fallon (R)
• Lizzie Fletcher (D)
• Mayra Flores (R)
• Sylvia Garcia (D)
• Louie Gohmert (R)
• Vicente Gonzalez (D)
• Lance Gooden (R)
• Al Green (D)
• Eddie Bernice Johnson (D)
• Sheila Jackson Lee (D)
• August Pfluger (R)
• Van Taylor (R)
• Filemon Vela (D)

The following Texas representatives are co-sponsors of HR 5723:

• Joaquin Castro (D)
• Henry Cuellar (D)
• Lloyd Doggett (D)
• Veronica Escobar (D)
• Lizzie Fletcher (D)
• Sylvia Garcia (D)
• Vincente Gonzalez (D)
• Al Green (D)
• Shelia Jackson Lee (D)
• Eddie Bernice Johnson (D)
• Marc Veasey (D)
• Filemon Vela (D)

The following Texas representatives are co-sponsors of HR 2337:

• Colin Allred, (D)
• Joaquin Castro (D)
• Henry Cuellar (D)
• Lloyd Doggett (D)
• Veronica Escobar (D)
• Lizzie Fletcher (D)
• Sylvia Garcia (D)
• Vincente Gonzalez (D)
• Al Green (D)
• Eddie Bernice Johnson (D)
• Marc Veasey (D)
• Filemon Vela (D)