{"id":66103,"date":"2023-11-20T16:11:45","date_gmt":"2023-11-20T22:11:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trta.org\/?p=66103"},"modified":"2023-11-20T16:11:45","modified_gmt":"2023-11-20T22:11:45","slug":"hearing-held-for-hr-82-bill-would-repeal-gpo-and-wep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trta.org\/es\/hearing-held-for-hr-82-bill-would-repeal-gpo-and-wep\/","title":{"rendered":"Hearing Held for HR 82, Bill Would Repeal GPO and WEP"},"content":{"rendered":"

A congressional hearing to discuss\u202fHR82 (Proyecto de ley 82)<\/a>, the Social Security Fairness Act of 2023, was held\u202fon November 20, 2023. HR 82, if passed, would repeal the harmful and arbitrary Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO).\u202fDuring a previous congressional cycle<\/a>, HR 82 gained significant momentum and widespread co-sponsorship, but ultimately, failed to pass.<\/p>\n

The hearing was held by U.S. House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security<\/a>. Entitled \u201cSocial Security’s Disservice to Public Servants: How the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset Mistreat Government Workers,\u201d the hearing was streamed live and can be viewed aqu\u00ed<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Texas Retired Teachers Association (TRTA) submitted written testimony for the hearing, which our members can read online<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As members of TRTA may know, these provisions took effect in the 1980\u2019s as a means of eliminating the \u201cwindfall\u201d of Social Security benefits received by beneficiaries who also receive a pension based on work not covered by Social Security.<\/p>\n

Ninety-five percent of Texas public school employees do not pay into Social Security through their work with Texas schools. However, many have other jobs before, during, or after their employment in education in which they do pay into the federal program.<\/p>\n

HR 82 was filed by Congressman Garret Graves<\/a> (R, LA). When introducing the bill, Congressman Graves said \u201cthis has been going on for far too long\u201d\u2014referring to the passage of the federal provisions more than 40 years ago.<\/p>\n

Subcommittee Chairman Congressman Mike Carey<\/a> (R, OH) described the GPO and WEP as flawed, complex formulas that tend to overcorrect. He explained that today\u2019s hearing \u201cis the first step to identify meaningful relief for our public servants.\u201d<\/p>\n

Congressman Jason Smith<\/a> (R, MO), who is the Chairman for the full U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, expressed that public servants impacted by the WEP and GPO \u201cdeserve a secure retirement,\u201d and that the real consequences for public employees include their struggles \u201cto afford their food, medicine, and heat their homes.\u201d He added that these senior citizens \u201care not only harmed, but blindsided,\u201d finding out too late, at the point of retirement, to adjust their plans. Congressman Smith emphasized that Congress must find a bipartisan way to resolve these issues.<\/p>\n

Witnesses who are retired public servants gave public testimony during the hearing.<\/p>\n

Patrick Yoes<\/a>, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police, testified that there has been no real action on GPO and WEP since 2008. He stated that there is deep frustration for law enforcement officers who lose up to 60 percent of their earned Social Security benefits due to WEP. Seventy percent lose their entire spousal or survivor benefit due to GPO. This \u201cdiscourages anyone from pursuing a career in public service,\u201d said Yoes.<\/p>\n

Yoes said that he hears from members of his organization every week. \u201cThey\u2019re not asking for handouts\u2014they\u2019re asking for what they earned.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bernie Piro, a retired firefighter of 35 years, testified that he expects his Social Security benefits to be cut by about 60 percent due to WEP. He described the provisions as a betrayal and \u201can injustice that must be corrected now.\u201d He explained how the WEP has been a tremendous hardship on his family, and they have eliminated spending where they can, including internet service and a landline at their home.<\/p>\n

Paula Porter, a retired school teacher from Louisiana of 38 years, testified that her husband passed away at age 61 from cancer and never collected any Social Security income. Mrs. Porter worked part-time jobs throughout her career after this passing to support their five children. Porter is now 80 years old, and she has\u00a0been denied her husband\u2019s benefits. \u201cI still live a simple life\u2014I don\u2019t travel, I don\u2019t go to movies. You lead a very, very simple life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Congressman Graves, who is married to a teacher, said, \u201cthis is a real penalty affecting real people.\u201d \u201cCongress is calling it \u2018budgeting\u2019 and acting like it\u2019s okay\u2014they got it wrong.\u201d Graves asked Mrs. Porter if she had known about these provisions before entering public education if she would still choose to be a teacher. “No, I don\u2019t think so,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

TRTA appreciates the members of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security for bringing this issue to the forefront.<\/p>\n

The time to perpetuate bad public policy at the expense of those who cannot afford to lose their hard\u2013earned Social Security benefits must come to an end. Congress, working with stakeholder groups, must make resolving this issue a priority! Now is the time for a bipartisan solution to make a difference for all public workers hurt by the WEP and GPO.<\/p>\n

TRTA looks forward to working with the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee to make progress during this Congress. TRTA leaders and staff are working with congressional members right now to advance reform. TRTA will continue to work with its national coalition, including the MASS Retirees Association and Association of Texas Professional Educators (ATPE), to enact positive change for retirees.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A congressional hearing to discuss\u202fHR 82, the Social Security Fairness Act of 2023, was held\u202fon November 20, 2023. HR 82, if passed, would repeal the harmful and arbitrary Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO).\u202fDuring a previous congressional cycle, HR 82 gained significant momentum and widespread co-sponsorship, but ultimately, failed to pass. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":58823,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHearing Held for HR 82, Bill Would Repeal GPO and WEP - Texas Retired Teachers Association<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/trta.org\/es\/hearing-held-for-hr-82-bill-would-repeal-gpo-and-wep\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hearing Held for HR 82, Bill Would Repeal GPO and WEP - Texas Retired Teachers Association\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A congressional hearing to discuss\u202fHR 82, the Social Security Fairness Act of 2023, was held\u202fon November 20, 2023. 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