In a historic vote, H.R. 82 passed through the U.S. House of Representatives today with a vote of 327 in favor and 75 against. H.R. 82, the Social Security Fairness Act of 2023 by Rep. Garret Graves (R, LA) and Abigail Spanberger (D, VA), proposes to repeal the unfair Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO).
The Texas Retired Teachers Association’s (TRTA) Executive Director Tim Lee discussed the next steps for this very important bill tonight in a live event with President Ella Gauthier and Legislative Coordinator Mary Widmier.
The WEP is a law that prevents retired Texas educators that participate in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) from drawing their entire Social Security benefit. The GPO is like the WEP, but instead of reducing the worker’s benefits, the GPO reduces the benefits for a spouse or former spouse who claims spousal benefits based on a spouse’s or former spouse’s earnings record.
The ball is now in the Senate’s court to advance the bill. TRTA members will be contacting the U.S. Senate about this issue in the coming days. Stay tuned for TRTA advocacy opportunities.
The WEP and GPO have unfairly damaged retirees’ lives for too long, and by banding together, we will continue to put pressure on lawmakers to finally pass a solution.
Thank You!
Thank you for being a member of TRTA. Please renew your dues with TRTA if you have not done so already, as our work in the Texas Capitol and on Capitol Hill is fueled by our members’ financial support! 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.
