The WEP and Government Pension Offset (GPO) provisions in federal law harm the retirement security of over 2 million public workers by arbitrarily reducing their Social Security benefits. Congressional leaders have promised to pass a solution to address these Social Security provisions.

H.R. 82, a bill with 305 cosponsors, would fully repeal the WEP and GPO. A recent committee markup demonstrated the lack of leadership support to move that bill forward, but it also showcased broad support for a fix, with many committee members calling for quick passage of a bipartisan alternative.

Those calls did not go unnoticed. Our groups heard clearly that bipartisan legislation, at least addressing the WEP, is not only possible but also should be put to a vote this year. Indeed, both House Ways & Means Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) and ranking member Congressman Kevin Brady (R-TX) have pledged in press statements and at the September committee markup to continue negotiating a bipartisan WEP reform agreement that could be included in a year-end tax extender or omnibus spending package.

As the 2022 clock ticks down, stakeholder urgency grows. Brady, a tireless advocate for fixing the WEP since 2004, is retiring, and the House majority will flip to Republican control in January. Neal, also an advocate for a fair and equitable solution to the WEP, will no longer chair the Ways and Means Committee, and stakeholders simply do not want to see this moment of cooperative work and focus on such an important issue squandered.

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