A bill expanding Social Security benefits to millions of Americans passed the U.S. Senate early Saturday and now heads to President Biden, who is expected to sign it into law.
Senators voted 76-20 in favor of the Social Security Fairness Act. repeal two federal policies That leaves about 3 million people, including police officers, firefighters, postal workers, teachers and other public pensioners, unable to receive their full Social Security benefits. The legislation has been decades in the making, with the Senate holding its first hearing on the policy in 2003.
After senators approved the bill at 12:15 a.m. Saturday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, declared, “The Senate is finally righting 50 years of wrongs.”
Shannon Benton, executive director of the Alliance for Older Americans, which advocates for retirees and has long pushed for benefits, said the bill’s passage would help “millions of people who have been denied the full benefits they rightfully earned.” “This is a monumental victory for these public servants.” Expansion of social security benefits. “This legislation will finally restore equity to the system and ensure that the hard work of teachers, first responders, and countless public servants is truly recognized.”
The vote comes as the Senate nears the end of its current session. Senators rejected four amendments and budget directives that could derail the bill late Friday night, given the short time frame left for passage. .
The first procedural vote on Wednesday included 24 Republican senators, including Vice President-elect J.D. Vance of Ohio, in addition to 49 Democrats pushing the bill.
Democratic Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, who lost his seat in the November election, said, “Social Security is the foundation of our middle class. It’s something you earn for 40 quarters, and you should have Social Security when you retire.” ” he said. It will take place on the floor ahead of Wednesday’s vote. “All these workers want is what they earn.”
What is the Social Security Fairness Act?
The Social Security Fairness Act would eliminate two federal policies that reduce Social Security payments to approximately 3 million retirees: the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO).
This includes people who also collect pensions from state or federal jobs that are not covered by Social Security, such as teachers, police officers, and U.S. postal workers. The bill would also repeal a second provision that would reduce Social Security benefits for surviving spouses and family members of these workers. WEP affects approximately 2 million Social Security beneficiaries and approximately 800,000 retirees in GPO.
The bill, which passed the House in November, had 62 co-sponsors when it was introduced in the Senate last year. But bipartisan support for the bill has waned in recent days, with some Republicans expressing doubts because of the cost. The bill is expected to increase the federal budget deficit by $195 billion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Without Senate approval, the bill’s fate would have ended this Congress and it would have had to be reintroduced in the next Congress.
