During my last trip to Washington D.C. at the end of April to attend the NEA’s Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) task force meeting, a few things became apparent. First, key lawmakers from both parties have held tentative discussions about the overhaul of GPO/WEP. If a bipartisan consensus emerges, Congress could address its focus on the repeal as soon as this late fall.
Second, there seems to be a spirit of willingness in the Senate on both sides of the isle to work with President Obama to keep Social Security solvent and allow consideration of the repeal of the unfair GPO/WEP penalties. Congressional consideration of Social Security reform could offer an important chance and a strong opportunity to push the agenda for GPO/WEP repeal. The push for repeal will continue to be a top priority of NEA and your NSEA and WEA team.
Efforts to move the repeal of GPO/WEP as a part of Social Security over all reform will be greatly enhanced if it can be shown that there is a great level of support among all levels of Congress.
As of my last meeting in Washington D.C., the house version of the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R.235) has 274 bipartisan co-sponsors, nearly as many cosponsors as the 110th Congress had at it close. All three of Nevada’s House of Representative Members, Heller, Berkley and Titus, have signed on to cosponsor repeal.
The Senate, however, has only 24 co-sponsors for its version (S.484). Additional pressure is needed in the Senate to build up its cosponsor list.
As issues heat up in the nation’s capitol, domestic priorities are always changing. As of the writing of this article, the Stimulus packages and Health Care are at the top of the list. Next is K12 education reform and the NCLB reauthorization. Finally on the list is pension reform and repeal of GPO/WEP. As I said at the beginning of this article, repeal could be addressed as soon as late this fall.
So action is needed! Contact your Representatives and especially your Senators and urge them, if they have not already done so, to co-sponsor H.R. 235 or S.484 – also known as “The Social Security Fairness Act.” Finally urge all members to support including repeal of the GPO/WEP in any comprehensive Social Security reform package.  The more they hear from you, the better it is and the quicker a repeal of GPO/WEP may be seen. If you have any questions, please feel free to call me or e-mail me at the WEA office.
I would like to end this article with a quote from Senator Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.): “At the end of the day, most Americans would embrace a balanced solution [to Social Security reform and GPO/WEP repeal] that did not require Draconian impact.  They are ready to make some hard decisions…. If there ever was a time to do it, it’s now.”