When the House returns to session, one of the first bills it will consider is H.R. 82, the Social Security Fairness Act, which would repeal the windfall elimination provision and government pension offset in current law.
Without getting into too much trouble, the WEP/GPO punishes millions of retired public servants – police officers, teachers and firefighters – and deprives them of up to 60% of the social security benefits they have earned during their working lives.
For forty years, retired civil servants have been treated differently than any other retired American worker. This is wrong, unfair, and unfair, and it is time for Congress to address this injustice. These retirees paid their contributions to Social Security and rightfully earned these benefits.
We are fortunate that this is a bipartisan issue that the Democratic and Republican members of Ohio’s delegation can agree on. We are fortunate that Senator Sherrod Brown is the lead sponsor in the Senate and Senator J.D. Vance has signed on as a co-sponsor.
In the House of Representatives, Representatives Balderson, Beatty, Brown, Carey, Joyce, Kaptur, Landsman, Miller, Rulli, Sykes and Turner all signed the bill to show their support for Ohio’s law enforcement officers. We would like to thank them all and we look forward to seeing them vote in favor of the bill.
For forty years, Congress used this as an excuse to maintain the WEP/GPO and treat government employees differently than other Americans who chose a career in the private sector. Enough is enough. It’s time to treat our police officers, teachers and firefighters fairly.
Frank Alesiano, President, Fraternal Order of Police, Tuscora Lodge 4, Dover
This article originally appeared on The Repository: LETTERS: Pass the Social Security Fairness Act for Government Employees
