Texas Congressman Lance Gooden: “Finally We See Some Action on Fixing WEP and GPO!”

Texas Congressman Vicente Gonzalez: “Retired Public Servants are Being Unjustly Stripped of the Benefits They Earned!”  

Discharge Petition for HR 82 Gets Enough Cosigners to Push for Congressional Vote

As the Texas Retired Teachers Association (TRTA) reported last week, the joint authors of HR 82, Congressman Garret Graves (R, LA) and Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger (D, VA), filed a discharge petition with the House clerk on Sept. 10 to force a vote on the bill in the U.S. House of Representatives.

HR 82 seeks repeal of both Social Security penalties, the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension offset (GPO).

Texas Congressman Lance Gooden, long-time friend to TRTA and champion of Texas education retirees, says the following:

• “Since I was in the State House of Representatives, I’ve heard from retirees and even my own mother on a frequent basis about the robbery of their Social Security benefits that Congress has refused to fix. Since I’ve been in Congress, I’ve heard a lot of talk from colleagues, but finally we see some action on fixing WEP and GPO! Now is the time to call your member of Congress and ask them to support the next step—passage of this bill. We are closer than ever and TRTA and its members, as well as your counterparts in other states can smell the victory. Let’s get this done!”

Congressman Gooden signed the discharge petition and is one of the Texas Congressional members taking a stand to act now and get a vote on WEP and GPO.

Texas Congressman Vicente Gonzalez also signed the petition and sent out a press release about the petition. He is a steadfast supporter of Social Security benefits and is committed to protecting them. He previously introduced H.R. 5342, the Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act, which would replace the WEP with fairer benefits for public sector employees. Congressman Gonzalez is a cosponsor of all three bills that support the reduction or repeal of the WEP.

Congressman Gonzalez made the following statement to TRTA:

• “Retired public servants in South Texas and throughout our country are being unjustly stripped of the benefits they earned simply for working for the public good,” said Congressman Gonzalez. “Congress has the unique power to stand up for those who have devoted years of their lives to the bettering of our communities and country. It’s past time we use that power and eliminate the WEP and GPO once and for all.”

A discharge petition is a parliamentary procedure used to release legislation from a committee and force a vote on the House floor. The petition is activated by collecting at least 218 signatures from House members. HR 82 currently has 329 bipartisan co-sponsors who signed onto the original bill, the second highest number of co-sponsors of any legislation in the House. When filed, the petition had collected 119 of the 218 signatures needed to move the process forward.

As of September 19, the petition has received 219 signatures. This means the petition has enough signatures to push for a vote by the full House. The following members of the Texas congressional delegation have signed the HR 82 discharge petition:

Lizzie Fletcher (D-Houston)
Jasmine Crockett (D-Dallas)
Collin Allred (D-Dallas)
Vicente Gonzalez (D-Edinburg)
Henry Cuellar (D-Laredo)
Sylvia Garcia (D-Houston)
Al Green (D-Texas)
Veronica Escobar (D-El Paso)
Mark Veasey (Fort Worth)
John Carter (R-Georgetown)
Morgan Luttrell (R-Houston)
Lance Gooden (R-Terrell)

TRTA commends the courage that signers of the discharge petition are showing, as they are essentially telling leadership to address these significant issues with no more delays.

TRTA is in favor of HR 82. We support all the measures that have been brought forward this Congress to rid the country of these unfair and arbitrary Social Security provisions. We support congressional action on bipartisan efforts to restore the Social Security benefits public servants have earned while paying into a public pension plan as well as Social Security during their working careers.

The WEP and the GPO represent failed public policy that disadvantages our retired and active educators, police officers, firefighters, and other public service employees. This policy has cost millions of retired public servants billions in earned Social Security benefits simply because Congress does not have the will to fix this injustice.

TRTA Executive Director Tim Lee says, “Relief cannot come quick enough. Let’s end the WEP and GPO!”

TRTA has worked for years to find solutions to WEP and GPO. Many of our members may recall the years TRTA worked with Texas Congressman Kevin Brady and the efforts made prior to his retirement to push legislation forward.

In the past year, two hearings have been held to discuss WEP and GPO. On November 20, 2023, the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee discussed HR 82. Another hearing on April 16, 2024 examined the intended purpose, shortcomings, and alternatives of both WEP and GPO. TRTA provided written testimony for both hearings.

Congress has many potential options for addressing the WEP and GPO. Right now, the most complete option—full repeal—is poised for action.

Another option is the Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act (HR 5342) filed by Texas Congressman Jodey Arrington and jointly authored by Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (D-McAllen), which, if passed, would end the arbitrary WEP and provide relief to two million public servants who are currently harmed by the WEP.

TRTA is grateful for Congressman Arrington’s leadership on this issue and for standing with those unfairly impacted by these harmful provisions. TRTA is grateful for Congressman Gonzalez’s work and really appreciates his commitment to the issue by signing on to all three of the measures that would reform these provisions.

“TRTA members have worked tirelessly on these issues, and we have much support from our congressional delegation. We have visited every Texas congressional office in Washington, D.C., worked with the Senate, met with other stakeholders, and even hosted special advocacy days and press conferences to rid the country of WEP and GPO,” said Lee. “We will never stop working for our members on this issue. We know our perseverance will ultimately pay off.”

Thank You!

Thank you for being a member of TRTA. We are asking members to please renew their dues with TRTA if they have not done so already. If you know someone who is not a member, please invite them to join us! There is strength in numbers and the surest way for us to accomplish success is to grow the organization. Please stay tuned to the Inside Line as progress continues to be made on reforming WEP and GPO!