The Social Security Fairness Act was passed in the Senate with 72 senators voting in favor of the legislation. It now heads to President Biden’s desk where it is expected to be signed into law.
This bill will allow nearly 3 million Americans to take advantage of their full Social Security benefits. Currently, the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset restrict certain public employees from accessing these benefits. Alice firefighters, teachers, police officers, and other public servants will be among those who can collect full benefits when this bill is signed into law.
Texas’ two U.S. Senators broke with one another and voted differently on this bill. Senator John Cornyn voted in favor of the Social Security Fairness Act, while Senator Ted Cruz voted against it. Although this bill was endorsed by President-elect Trump, Senator Cruz is known in D.C. as a deficit hawk, which means he typically votes against any federal spending increases.
The Government Pension Offset was signed into law in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter while the Windfall Elimination Provision was introduced several years later. The Windfall Provision was passed and signed into law by former President Ronald Reagan, as part of the Social Security Amendments of 1983. Since then, these policies have created unnecessary hardship for millions of elderly Americans who paid into Social Security and a pension, but could not access their full benefits.
The Texas branch of the American Federation of Teachers, the largest teachers union in the country, released a statement about the Social Security Fairness Act. “For decades, AFT members have lobbied Congress for a fix to these harmful provisions that have left our retired educators scraping to get by in the years they should spend celebrating a life well lived,’ says Texas AFT President Zeph Capo. “If you pay into Social Security, those benefits should be yours in full. Period.”
