At 6:16am EST on 20 December, the Senate voted to PASS HR.82 - the Social Security Fairness Act by a vote of 72 to 30 after all 4 Amendments were defeated. WEP has been repealed!
This is a huge win for SS beneficiaries, for our Caucus, and for Democratic leadership.
We want to thank Brendan Read for his superb leadership on our Caucus, and for never giving up. Thanks to our Chair, Betsy Ettorre for her guidance and support. It was not easy.
Thanks also go out to Pam Alexandroff who lead the National WEP & GPO Repeal Movement, to police, firefighters and teachers unions who called, emailed, and showed up in Washington DC in large enough numbers to make Congress take notice, and to all Democrats Abroad members who contacted their Congressional representatives.
Call To Action! Repeal WEP Now! CALL NOW
Ask Your Representative to sign the Discharge Petition for HR.82 - the Social Security Fairness Act to bring it to the floor for a vote.
Below are EMAIL and CALL scripts - follow these easy steps:
1. Click here and enter the Zip Code where you last lived in the U.S. It will display your Representative and their contact information.
2. Click here to see if your Representative is already a co-sponsor.
3. Customize the scripts below - to ask them to sign the Discharge Petition - or - thank them for being a co-sponsor.
4. Email or Call their office - better yet, do both!
5. Email us at: [email protected] - Subject line: “Co-Sponsor DONE" to let us know that you contacted your Representative.
Good luck and Many thanks,
Betsy Ettorre, Chair, Global Seniors Caucus
Brendan Read, Chair, Seniors Caucus WEP Committee
Email Script 1 Ask to vote YES on the Discharge Petition to bring
HR.82 to the floor for a vote
Dear Representative __________________,
I am contacting you to ask you to sign the Discharge Petition for H.R. 82 - the Social Security Fairness Act to bring it to the floor for a vote.
HR.82 would repeal the unjust and unfair Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) that claws backs much-needed retirement income from hard working middle-class Americans.
[Tell here, in your own words how the WEP has impacted you and/or your spouse now. Or fear that it will impact you/them in the future when you/they do retire.]
As you may know, on November 20, 2023, a successful field hearing was held for the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). There was broad and enthusiastic support from legislators and witnesses for repealing these unjust Social Security penalties.
Coupled with this important hearing, H.R. 82 has received overwhelming bipartisan support as confirmed by its 325 co-sponsors. Will you join them?
Please help bring this decades-old injustice to a close by also requesting a “mark-up” session by the House Ways and Means Committee so that the final bill repeals the WEP and GPO as called for by H.R. 82.
The notion that repealing the WEP and GPO would negatively impact the solvency of the Social Security Trust Fund is unfounded. For nearly 50 years, the Social Security Administration has used portions of our lawfully earned benefits that it unfairly withheld to bolster the S.S. Trust Fund and maintain its solvency. The only way to rectify this unjust situation is to repeal the WEP and GPO through federal legislation.
I appreciate your consideration and look forward to your help in repealing the WEP and GPO penalties in the 118th Congress.
Thank you,
[Your Name]
Email Script 2 – THANK them for Co-Sponsoring
Subject: Thank you for co-sponsoring HR.82 - the Social Security Fairness Act; and please also request a sign the Discharge Petition for H.R. 82 - the Social Security Fairness Act to bring it to the floor for a vote
Dear Representative __________________,
Thank you for your co-sponsorship of HR. 82, the Social Security Fairness Act. We now urge you to sign the Discharge Petition for H.R. 82 - the Social Security Fairness Act to bring it to the floor for a vote.
As you know, on November 20, 2023, a successful field hearing was held for the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). There was broad and enthusiastic support from legislators and witnesses for repealing these unjust Social Security penalties. HR. 82 has received overwhelming bipartisan support as confirmed by its 325 co-sponsors.
I appreciate your consideration and look forward to your help in repealing the WEP and GPO penalties in the 118th Congress.
Thank you,
[Your Name]
Call Script
If your Representative co-sponsored this bill:
I want to thank the Congress(wo)man for promising to support H.R. 82 - the Social Security Fairness Act. I/My family relies on the security that my paid-in contributions provide for a secure future in my retired years.
A Discharge Petition is being filed to bring HR. 82 to the floor for a vote. We urge you to sign the Discharge Petition so HR.82 can finally be brought to the floor for a vote.
If your Representative has not co-sponsored this bill:
Hello, I am a constituent who votes in [CITY/TOWN, STATE], but I am currently residing in and calling from [CITY, COUNTRY]. I was hoping to speak to the Representative or their staffer about the repeal of the Social Security Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) that impacts your constituents like me who live outside the United States.
I am calling to ask Representative _____ to urge them to co-sponsor H.R.82 - the Social Security Fairness Act.
I’m also asking them to sign a Discharge Petition for HR.82 to allow it to come to the
floor for a vote.
I was strongly encourage the Congress(wo)man_____ to commit to supporting H.R.82. It would provide more fairness to the Social Security program and security for retired senior constituents in our district.
[Personalize your message using ideas from this script]
I am an ordinary US citizen. I moved to [Country] to [be with my partner/family/to take a job/other]. I am not wealthy. The complexity of investing for retirement due to double taxation of mutual funds and the unwillingness of banks in and outside the U.S. allowing pre-retirees to hold accounts and contribute to new investments, has left my pension funds lacking.
Most of the urgent need for WEP repeal has been focused on and sympathizing with retired public servants and teachers at home, even with their prior knowledge about WEP deductions on their future Social Security because of their non-covered pensions. But Americans living abroad often have worked at least part of their careers within the U.S. contributing to Social Security. Later, we entered the confusing and complicated environment of preparing for retirement while living abroad. WEP applies to most people who receive both a pension from non-covered work (including certain foreign pensions) and Social Security benefits based on fewer than 30 years of substantial covered employment or self-employment earnings. Spousal Social Security benefits are also unfairly repealed due to WEP, making my family’s long-term financial stability more worrying.
The rules for WEP and the calculation for the deduction are complicated. This leaves many retirees in the dark until they get the bad news that their paid-for benefits are being cut. Adding to this, the complexity of the Foreign Equalization Treaties and taxation of passive investing income affecting U.S. citizens abroad hinders us from properly preparing for our retirement. Sometimes we cannot even open a retirement account inside or outside the States for various reasons. The current WEP law is punishing and unfair.
Can we expect to see the
congress(wo)man co-sponsor H.R.82 Social Security Fairness Act, and vote to repeal the
WEP?
I am (will be) personally affected by these WEP deductions, so this issue an important voting consideration for me, when I vote by absentee ballot. I hope that you can assure me that this bill will reach the floor for vote in this legislative session because American retirees living abroad are counting on you.
Thank you for your time listening to my concerns.