U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) recently joined fellow members of Congress to sign a discharge petition to force a vote on a broadly supported bipartisan bill that would ensure America’s first responders and teachers receive their full Social Security benefits.
“Iowa teachers, police officers, first responders, and other public servants deserve their full retirement benefits, but many have had their benefits unfairly reduced,” Rep. Hinson said last week. “I will continue fighting to bring this legislation across the finish line for our retirees.”
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives signed the discharge petition for the Social Security Fairness Act, H.R. 82, which U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) sponsored in January 2021 with 17 original cosponsors, including U.S. Reps. Garret Graves (R-LA), Dave Joyce (R-OH), and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA).
If enacted, H.R. 82 would repeal provisions that reduce Social Security benefits for individuals who receive other benefits, such as a pension from a state or local government, and would eliminate the government pension offset, which in various instances reduces Social Security benefits for spouses, widows, and widowers who also receive government pensions of their own, according to the congressional record bill summary.
H.R. 82 on Sept. 20 was assigned to the Consensus Calendar. The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee that same day held a mark-up session on the bill, which was then ordered to be reported without recommendation by voice vote and placed on the Union Calendar. However, there has been no action on H.R. 82 since then. The measure currently has 305 cosponsors.
“The bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act will immediately restore the benefits that millions of retired public servants rely on and have earned,” said Rep. Hinson. “As Iowa seniors struggle to pay the bills due to inflation, it is critical that Congress pass this bipartisan solution.”