Dear Representative,
I am writing to ask that you consider signing a discharge petition for H.R. 82, the “Social Security Fairness Act,” which is a top legislative priority of the Fraternal Order of Police. In order to expedite the consideration of the bill before the end of this Congress, the FOP is supporting a discharge petition on H. Res. 1410 so the House can consider the “Social Security Fairness Act” on the floor. On behalf of the members of the Fraternal Order of Police, I ask that you support this discharge petition.
Throughout this Congress, the FOP has worked with Republican and Democrat members, Congressional staff, and stakeholder groups in order to build support for and ultimately pass H.R. 82 — which is one of the most bipartisan bills in the House. It was our intention to move this bill through regular order, and for the past year and a half, we have been involved in good faith negotiations with the House Committee on Ways and Means to do just that. However, with the end of this Congress rapidly approaching and a lack of consensus among the committee, we must ensure that a bill with 325 cosponsors can get to the floor for a vote.
To bring the entirety of H.R. 82 to the floor for a vote, a bill which over half of Republicans and all but a handful of Democrats have cosponsored, the stakeholder community, representing hundreds of thousands of public employees in every region of the country, have concluded that our only way forward is a discharge petition.
The legislation would repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) in current Social Security law, two provisions of the Social Security Act that unfairly reduce or eliminate the Social Security benefits for millions of Americans who have devoted their careers to public service. Last year on 20 November, the House Ways and Means Committee held a field hearing, entitled “Social Security’s Disservice to Public Servants: How the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset Mistreat Government Workers.” During this hearing, retired government employees from across the country testified about how these provisions severely damage their finances and jeopardize their retirements.
Ultimately, the “Social Security Fairness Act” is about fairness to public employees who served their communities. When these public employees earn a Social Security benefit through other work, they should receive that benefit in full without being penalized because of their public service. A significant majority of the House and Senate shares this view, and we believe this bill has earned the right to be debated on the floor.
On behalf of the more than 377,000 members of the Fraternal Order of Police, I hope that you will continue to support basic fairness for our public servants and agree to sign the discharge petition on H. Res. 1410. If I can be of any help or provide additional information about the bill or process, please do not hesitate to contact me or Executive Director Jim Pasco in our Washington, D.C. office.
Sincerely,
Patrick Yoes
National President