The House of Representatives voted by a bipartisan majority this week to increase Social Security benefits for millions of Americans, but a significant number of Republicans voted against the measure to help retirees and their spouses receive full benefits.
The Social Security Fairness Act passed the House of Representatives on a 327-75 vote on Tuesday, effectively eliminating the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO).
Historically, these have both reduced monthly Social Security benefits for government employees, police officers, firefighters, teachers and their spouses, based on the pensions they receive along with Social Security.
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“Educators who do not earn Social Security benefits in public schools but who work part-time or during the summer in jobs covered by Social Security have received lower benefits, even though they pay enough quarters into the system to receive benefits,” the statement said. lawmaker. sponsors, Republican Rep. Garret Graves of Louisiana and Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, in a statement.
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About 3 million Americans are affected by the combined WEP and GPO. If the Senate also passes the Social Security Fairness Act and President Joe Biden signs it, these millions could receive substantially higher monthly benefits.
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“This could mean slightly bigger checks for many people struggling with the rising cost of living, especially as grocery prices soar,” Kevin Thompson, a financial expert and the founder and CEO of 9i Capital Group, told me. Newsweek. “This change would provide some relief to retirees affected by inflation.”
While most House Democrats and 136 House Republicans voted to repeal the WEP and the GPO, 71 Republicans voted against the legislation:
- Rick Allen (Georgia)
- Jodey Arrington (Texas)
- James Baird (Indiana)
- Aaron Bean (Florida)
- Cliff Bentz (Oregon)
- Andy Biggs (Arizona)
- Dan Bishop (North Carolina)
- Josh Brecheen (Oklahoma)
- Tim Burchett (Tennessee)
- Eric Burlison (Missouri)
- Kat Cammack (Florida)
- Count Carter (Georgia)
- Ben Cline (Virginia)
- Andrew S.Clyde (Georgia)
- Mike Collins (Georgia)
- Elijah Crane (Arizona)
- Eric Crawford (Arkansas)
- Dan Crenshaw (Texas)
- Byron Donalds (Florida)
- Jeff Duncan (South Carolina)
- Neal Dunn (Florida)
- Chuck Edwards (North Carolina)
- Ron Estes (Kansas)
- Scott Fitzgerald (Wisconsin)
- Virginia Foxx (North Carolina)
- Russell Fry (South Carolina)
- Russian Fulcher (Idaho)
- Bob Good (Virginia)
- H. Morgan Griffith (Virginia)
- Glenn Grothman (Wisconsin)
- Andy Harris (Maryland)
- Diana Harshbarger (Tennessee)
- Kevin Hern (Oklahoma)
- Wesley Hunt (Texas)
- Darin LaHood (Illinois)
- Greg Lopez (Colorado)
- Barry Loudermilk (Georgia)
- Nancy Mace (South Carolina)
- Tracey Mann (Kansas)
- Tom McClintock (California)
- Richard McCormick (Georgia)
- Mary Miller (Illinois)
- Carol Miller (West Virginia)
- John Moolenaar (Michigan)
- Blake Moore (Utah)
- Nathaniel Moran (Texas)
- Gregory Murphy (North Carolina)
- Ralph Norman (South Carolina)
- Andrew Ogles (Tennessee)
- Gary Palmer (Alabama)
- Scott Perry (Pennsylvania)
- John Rose (Tennessee)
- Matthew Rosendale (Montana)
- David Rouzer (North Carolina)
- Chip Roy (Texas)
- David Schweikert (Arizona)
- Austin Scott (Georgia)
- Keith Self (Texas)
- Adrian Smith (Nebraska)
- Lloyd Smucker (Pennsylvania)
- Victoria Spartaz (Indiana)
- Elise Stefanik (New York)
- Bryan Steil (Wisconsin)
- W. Gregory Steube (Florida)
- Thomas Tiffany (Wisconsin)
- William Timmons (South Carolina)
- Beth Van Duyne (Texas)
- Bruce Westerman (Arkansas)
- Joe Wilson (South Carolina)
- Steve Womack (Arkansas)
- Ryan Zinke (Montana)
Opposition to the bill focused on the law’s ultimate costs, which could further impact the Social Security Administration’s projected funding shortfall. It is currently projected that the agency will run out of money for full payments as early as 2035.
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If fully passed, the Social Security Fairness Act would cost an estimated $196 billion over the next decade.
“We are going to accelerate the insolvency of the Social Security trust fund,” Jodey Arrington, a Republican from Texas, said on Tuesday. “We have to be responsible in how we do this. We have to consider retirees in every state, and we have to consider future retirees.”
Some Democrats also voted against the Social Security Fairness Act because of these concerns.
“I am proud to join them in the fight to repeal these unjust provisions, but they must be paid for responsibly to avoid automatic benefit cuts,” said Rep. John Larsen, a Democrat of Connecticut, in a statement. “I could not vote for the bills in the chamber tonight because they are not paid for and therefore endanger Americans’ hard-earned benefits.”
