Today, December 18, the United States Senate began the voting process on H.R. 82, the Social Security Fairness Act. As members of the Texas Retired Teachers Association (TRTA) know, if passed, H.R. 82 would repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO).
TRTA has been informed that debate and voting on H.R. 82 will continue tomorrow, Thursday, December 19. The process will continue at approximately 9 a.m. Central. The live video of the proceedings will be available from this link.
When discussion about H.R. 82 began today, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D, OH), who filed the companion bill to H.R. 82 in the Senate (S. 597), made an impassioned speech. “If you love this country, you fight for the people who make it work,” Brown said. Sen. Brown also praised public servants’ roles in our society, saying “they make our lives livable and better . . . all these workers are asking for is what they have earned.”
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer then called for a cloture vote on H.R. 82, a procedure to end a filibuster and limit further debate. Invoking cloture is a way to impose a time limit on further debate and move the legislative process forward. If all Senators are present, 60 must vote in favor of cloture. 73 Senators voted in favor of cloture on H.R. 82, including Texas Sen. John Cornyn.
H.R. 82 still faces several steps before passage, including defeating several filed amendments as well as a vote on the actual bill.
Senators Manchin and Cruz engaged in a colloquy, or high-level conversation, on the floor to share how they would handle these Social Security issues differently, other than fully repealing both the WEP and GPO.
While TRTA respects all our elected leaders and their views, our position is fully supporting the bill at hand as-is for final passage. We still urge both Senators Cruz and Cornyn to support H.R. 82 without amendment.
The other amendments have not yet been presented during debate. Due to time constraints, any amendments added to H.R. 82 would require the bill to be reconsidered by the U.S. House, effectively killing the bill during this legislative cycle.
We are asking our members to remain engaged and positive and to stay tuned to the Inside Line and our social media channels.
TRTA Executive Director Tim Lee will be live on Facebook and YouTube after the final votes on H.R. 82 have been taken to share the news of the bill’s status.
Thank You!
If you want TRTA to be able to continue our work, please support us today and renew your membership dues! This is how we can deploy resources when needed at urgent times such as these. If you are not a member, please join today! It may be the best $35 you spend every year to protect and improve your livelihood and income as we fight for your retirement security!
