Schumer Says Senate Will Vote on Social Security Fairness Act

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) speaks to the press after the Senate Republican leadership election in Washington on Nov. 13, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on Dec. 11 that he will bring the Social Security Fairness Act before the Senate for a vote.

The bill removes rules that reduce Social Security benefits in certain cases, such as those receiving pensions or disability benefits.

“I am here to tell you the Senate is going to take action on Social Security,” he said.

“What’s happening to you is unfair, un-American, I will fight it all the way.”

The announcement came during a rally hosted by leaders from labor unions across the country, held in the pouring rain outside the Senate Russell building.

Schumer later posted on social media platform X, saying, “In America, there’s a basic promise that if you work hard all your life, play by the rules, and contribute year after year, then you deserve a secure retirement!”

The bill repeals the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO).

These rules were set in place to stop employees from collecting both full Social Security benefits and their pensions from employers who did not withhold Social Security taxes from their paychecks.

Critics of the bill say it would give an unfair financial boost to employees, usually government workers, who were exempt from paying Social Security taxes on their salary in the first place.

The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank, estimated that the bill would cost about $195 billion over the next decade and speed up the Social Security program’s insolvency.

It may also result in lower Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamp) payments for some whose monthly reported income would be increased by the social security boost.

Schumer said he has lined up unanimous support from the Democrats but is working to get the 15 Republican supporters needed to pass the legislation.

“You’re gonna find out which senators are with ya and which are agin’ ya,” Schumer said colloquially.

The bill passed the House 327–75 in November via discharge petition, an unusual move that took the bill out of the hands of the House Ways and Means Committee and directly to the floor for a vote.

Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.), who introduced the bill in the House, is confident that the legislation will make it through the Senate as well.

“More than 60 Senators support our Social Security Fairness Act,” he said in a statement.

“The heavy lifting is done. The path to victory could not be clearer. A WEP-GPO repeal could be in the stockings of millions of public service retirees this Christmas.”

This session of Congress is set to end soon, and legislators already have their hands full as they seek to pass supplementary spending by Dec. 20 to keep the government running into the new year.

Next year’s Senate will also see majority rule flipped from Democrat to Republican, and incoming Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) was not a co-sponsor of the bill.