The House of Representatives voted 325 to 75 to expand Social Security benefits for millions of Americans.
On Tuesday, a bipartisan bill called the Social Security Fairness Act received approval to reverse two provisions that routinely lower seniors’ monthly Social Security checks.
Historically, the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset Provision (GPO) have prevented workers from getting full Social Security benefits if they also receive a pension.
The WEP affects people with less than 30 years of significant earnings from employment covered by Social Security if they also get a “non-covered pension.”
Conversely, the GPO lowers the benefits for spouses of those receiving a non-covered pension by around two-thirds.
This impacts millions of former public service workers, including teachers, police officers, firefighters, and their spouses.
“The plan is to enhance Social Security, not to cut it…” Representative John Larson, a Connecticut Democrat, said Tuesday. “Now is the time for us to act and to vote.”
Some Congress members remained critical of the law, as its passage is predicted to cost around $196 billion over the next 10 years.
This is while the Social Security Administration is already facing a funding shortfall that would see benefits lowered by around 20 percent for retirees starting as early as 2025.
Above: The Social Security Administration office in Burbank, California. Social Security benefits could be expanded for millions of Americans after the House passed a new bill.
VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images
During a public hearing on the bill, Representative Jodey Arrington, a Texas Republican, said Congress should ensure fairness for all public service workers, no matter which state they live in. However, he cautioned against approving the bill without considering how it would impact the Social Security system’s funding.
“We’re gonna accelerate the insolvency of the Social Security trust fund,” Arrington said Tuesday. “We should be responsible in how we do this. We should consider retirees in every state, and we should consider future retirees.”
After the House voted to approve the bill, it will head to the Senate, where it is also likely to pass.
Before its passage in the House, the law received more than 300 signatures from Democrats and Republicans alike. However, the Freedom Caucus broke protocol last week by tabling the bill before reversing that decision this week.
“The bill in question expanded Social Security benefits to a small group that had been excluded in the past due to provisions on combining those benefits with additional pensions from workers in certain fields,” Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee, previously told Newsweek.
“The proposal was a popular one and gained bipartisan support, which makes not addressing it for the time being even more puzzling.”