The Social Security Fairness Act was passed by a bi-partisan group of Congresspeople, before President Biden signed it into law this past week.
The legislation passed the U.S. Senate with 72 votes in favor, a remarkable achievement for a body that rarely finds agreement on issues outside of war and corporate profits.
This bill now allows nearly 3 million Americans to take advantage of their full Social Security benefits. The new law has scrapped the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset, two provisions that were designed to prevent public employees from accessing their full benefits.
Alice firefighters, teachers, police officers, and other public servants who paid into Social Security will now be able to collect full benefits.
Texas’ two U.S. Senators did not find agreement on this piece of legislation. Senator John Cornyn voted in favor of the bill, while Senator Ted Cruz did not. Although this law was endorsed by President-elect Trump, Senator Cruz is known in D.C. as a deficit hawk, so he usually votes against any federal spending increases.
Following the news of it’s approval, the AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a statement, “Everyone knows a teacher, firefighter, law enforcement officer, nurse, or public worker who’s paid into Social Security year after year, only to have their payments curbed by the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset when they retire. Now, that penalty will be consigned to the dustbin of history, where it belongs.”
The International Association of Firefighters also supported this legislation after having their benefits restricted for decades. “Today, that promise has been restored, and retired fire fighters and emergency medical workers will now receive the full Social Security benefits they’ve earned and paid into,” General President Edward Kelly said in a statement.