Legislation to extend Social Security benefits to millions of Americans passed the US Senate early Saturday and now heads to the desk of President Biden, who is expected to sign the measure as law
Senators voted 76-20 in favor Social Security Equity Lawwhat would it be eliminate two federal policies which prevent nearly 3 million people, including police officers, firefighters, postmen, teachers and other people with public pensions, from being able to collect all Social Security benefits. The legislation has been decades in the making, with the Senate holding its first hearings on the policies in 2003.
“The Senate is finally righting a 50-year-old wrong,” proclaimed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, after senators passed the legislation at 12:15 p.m. Saturday.
The passage of the bill is “a monumental victory for millions of public service workers who have been denied all the benefits they have rightfully earned,” said Shannon Benton, executive director of the Senior Citizens League , which defends retirees and has long been advocating the expansion of Social Security benefits. “This legislation finally restores fairness to the system and ensures that the hard work of teachers, first responders and countless public employees is truly recognized.”
The vote came down to the wire as the Senate sought to wind down its current session. Senators rejected four amendments and a budget point of order Friday night that would have derailed the measure, given the short window of time left to pass it.
Vice President-elect JD Vance of Ohio was one of 24 Republican senators who joined 49 Democrats in advancing the measure in an initial procedural vote that took place Wednesday.
“Social Security is the foundation of our middle class. You pay into it for 40 quarters, you earned it, it should be there when you retire,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, a Democrat who lost his seat in the November elections. chamber before Wednesday’s vote. “All these workers are asking for is what they have earned.”
What is the Social Security Equity Act?
The Social Security Fairness Act would repeal two federal policies: the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), which reduce Social Security payments to nearly 3 million retirees .
This includes those who also collect pensions from state and federal jobs that are not covered by Social Security, including teachers, police officers and US postal workers. The bill would also end a second provision that reduces Social Security benefits for spouses and surviving family members of these workers. WEP impacts on 2 million Social Security and GPO beneficiaries almost 800,000 retirees
The measure, which passed the House in November, had 62 co-sponsors when it was introduced in the Senate last year. However, bipartisan support for the bill eroded in recent days, with some Republican lawmakers expressing doubts because of its cost. according to a the Congressional Budget Office, the proposed legislation would add a projected $195 billion to federal deficits over a decade.
Without Senate approval, the bill’s fate would have ended with the current session of Congress and would have had to come up again in the next Congress.