WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Senate voted 76-20 to pass the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R.82/S.597) to correct a long-standing penalty that unfairly impacts millions of public servants and surviving spouses across the nation.

The bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act was introduced in the Senate by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Susan Collins (R-ME) and in the U.S. House by Representatives Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-7) and Garret Graves (R-LA-6). Senator Reed is an original cosponsor of the Senate bill, which had 62 cosponsors. 

The bipartisan legislation, which previously passed the U.S. House of Representatives in November with a vote of 327-75-1, repeals the government pension offset (GPO) and windfall elimination provision (WEP) that reduce Social Security benefits for some firefighters, police officers, public school teachers, postal workers, and other public workers and their spouses. 

“Thousands of hardworking Rhode Islanders who have dedicated their lives to serving our communities deserve the reassurance that they won’t be short-changed on their Social Security benefits.  I’ve worked with my colleague Sherrod Brown for years to pass this legislation in order to ensure that millions of teachers, postal workers, firefighters, law enforcement officers, and other dedicated civil servants get the benefits they have earned,” said Senator Reed.  “I’m glad we were able to finally deliver this correction for millions of hardworking Americans and I’m committed to protecting and strengthening Social Security to ensure all Americans are able to retire with the dignity and financial security they have earned.”

According to the Congressional Research Service, the WEP and GPO provisions have limited Social Security payouts for approximately 2.8 million Americans.  

Now that the legislation has been approved by the Senate, it will be sent to the President’s desk to be signed into law.