Government affairs

Today, in a voice vote, the House Committee on Ways and Means approved the Social Security Fairness Act of 2021 (H.R. 82). The bill would repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) titles of the Social Security Act, which unfairly reduce or sometimes eliminate Social Security benefits for millions of federal workers, including letter carriers. H.R. 82, introduced by Reps. Rodney Davis (R-IL) and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), has a strong bipartisan consensus with 300 cosponsors.

“The millions of public service workers across the country who are being unfairly punished by the Social Security Act deserve [a vote on this bill],” Rep. Davis said. “That’s why a bipartisan supermajority of the House is cosponsoring our bill. Let’s get this done.”

“The 117th Congress can finally be the one that fixes this long-standing inequity and protect the benefits of retirees who dedicated their careers to public service,” Rep. Spanberger said.

On Sept. 19, NALC, along with other postal unions, sent a letter to the House Committee on Ways and Means urging the passage of H.R. 82 without amendment.

“After 30 years of inaction in Congress, it is time to repeal these unfair penalties that reduce retirees’ incomes by thousands of dollars every year, taking away the benefits that they earned in private sector employment.” Read the full letter here.

The legislation now awaits a score from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) before it can be scheduled for a floor vote. With the congressional calendar coming to a close, it is imperative that letter carriers take action to tell their member of Congress in the House to bring this bill to the floor right away.

Click here to contact your representative.