Submitted by United States Representative Clay Higgins of the 3rd District in Louisiana.
WASHINGTON (December 12, 2024) – Congressman Clay Higgins (R-LA) delivered an open letter this week urging advocates to help push H.R. 82, the Social Security Fairness Act, through the U.S. Senate.
The letter is being circulated to organizations that have signaled public support for the bill:
- National Fraternal Order of Police
- International Association of Fire Fighters
- National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association
- American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
- National Association of Letter Carriers
- National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association
- National Treasury Employees Union
- Senior Citizens League
- American Federation of Teachers
- National Education Association
- American Federation of School Administrators
- Peace Officers Research Association of California
- California Retired Teachers Association
“This is the best opportunity we have ever had to pass H.R. 82, and we must not let this moment go to waste,” wrote Congressman Higgins in the letter. “For decades, both sides have recognized the failures of the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). These provisions, originally meant to bring accountability to government benefits, have stolen countless billions of dollars that rightly belong to our nation’s senior citizens.”
Congressman Higgins has advocated for this legislation for seven years. In September, Congressman Higgins became the eighth signature on the discharge petition that forced a vote on the House floor. The House passed H.R. 82 on November 12, 2024, and the bill remains on hold in the Senate waiting for a vote.
“62 Senators, including Chuck Schumer, cosponsored the Social Security Fairness Act. The House of Representatives has passed the Social Security Fairness Act, and it is being blocked in the Senate. We, the People, demand a clean vote on the Senate floor, yet these Senators who cosponsored SSFA are not demanding a vote,” said Congressman Higgins in a statement last week. “Senate rules allow 60 Senators to force a vote on the Social Security Fairness Act, and 62 have cosponsored the Social Security Fairness Act. America, call them, write them, demand their compliance. Make these Senators honor their own signature. A clean vote, yes or no, that’s all we ask for.”
In recent weeks, Congressman Higgins has also delivered letters to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Majority Leader-elect John Thune (R-SD), urging them to schedule a vote in the U.S. Senate.
Read the letter to Social Security Fairness Act Advocates here
Read the letter to Senator Schumer here.
Read the letter to Senator Thune here.
Watch Congressman Higgins discuss the importance of H.R. 82 here.
Watch Congressman Higgins advocate for the bill in a House Ways and Means field hearing here.
