The House of Representatives voted to increase Social Security benefits for millions of Americans this week with a bipartisan majority, but a substantial number of Republicans voted against the measure to help pensioners and their spouses get full benefits.
The Social Security Fairness Act was approved by the House in a vote 327-75 vote Tuesday, effectively eliminating the windfall elimination provision (WEP) and the government pension offset (GPO).
Historically, both of these have lowered monthly Social Security payments for public service workers, police officers, firefighters, teachers and their spouses, based on the pensions they receive in tandem with Social Security.
"Educators who do not earn Social Security in public schools but who work part-time or during the summer in jobs covered by Social Security have reduced benefits, even though they pay into the system for enough quarters to receive benefits," said the bill's co-sponsors, GOP Representative Garret Graves of Louisiana and Democratic Representative Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, in a statement.
Around 3 million Americans are affected by the WEP and GPO combined. If the Senate also approves the Social Security Fairness Act and President Joe Biden signs it, these millions could see substantially higher monthly benefits.
"This could mean slightly larger checks for many people who are struggling with the rising cost of living, particularly with grocery prices soaring," Kevin Thompson, a finance expert and the founder and CEO of 9i Capital Group, told Newsweek. "This change would provide some relief to retirees feeling the pinch of inflation."
While most House Democrats and 136 House Republicans voted to get rid of the WEP and 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)
- Earl 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)
- Russ 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 Spartz (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)
The pushback against the bill centered on the law's eventual costs, which could further affect the Social Security Administration's projected funding shortfall. Currently, the agency is predicted to run out of money for full payments by as early as 2035.
If fully enacted, the Social Security Fairness Act is estimated to cost $196 billion over the next decade.
"We're gonna accelerate the insolvency of the Social Security trust fund," Jodey Arrington, a Texas Republican, said Tuesday. "We should be responsible in how we do this. We should consider retirees in every state, and we should 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 it must be responsibly paid for to prevent automatic benefit cuts down the road," Representative John Larsen, a Connecticut Democrat, said in a statement. "I could not vote for the bills on the Floor tonight because they are not paid for and therefore put Americans' hard-earned benefits at risk."
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