{"database": "openregs", "table": "congressional_record", "rows": [["CREC-2002-11-22-pt1-PgE2131-2", "2002-11-22", 107, 2, null, null, "GOVERNMENT PENSION OFFSET AND WINDFALL ELIMINATION PROVISION", "HOUSE", "EXTENSIONS", "ALLOTHER", "E2131", "E2132", "[{\"name\": \"Max Sandlin\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}]", "[{\"congress\": \"107\", \"type\": \"HR\", \"number\": \"664\"}, {\"congress\": \"107\", \"type\": \"HR\", \"number\": \"848\"}, {\"congress\": \"107\", \"type\": \"HR\", \"number\": \"2638\"}, {\"congress\": \"107\", \"type\": \"HR\", \"number\": \"4070\"}]", "148 Cong. Rec. E2131", "Congressional Record, Volume 148 Issue 152 (Friday, November 22, 2002)\n\n[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 152 (Friday, November 22, 2002)]\n[Extensions of Remarks]\n[Pages E2131-E2132]\nFrom the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]\n\n      GOVERNMENT PENSION OFFSET AND WINDFALL ELIMINATION PROVISION\n\n                                 ______\n\n                            HON. MAX SANDLIN\n\n                                of texas\n\n                    in the house of representatives\n\n                       Friday, November 22, 2002\n\n  Mr. SANDLIN. Mr. Speaker, in the waning moments of this Congress, the\nHouse of Representatives almost adopted a bill that would have\ndevastating consequences to teachers and public employees across the\nState of Texas and the country. Instead of helping teachers and\ngovernment employees secure a better retirement, H.R. 4070, Social\nSecurity Program Protection Act of 2002, as amended, would have left\nhard working teachers worse off rather than better off. In these\nuncertain economic times, this Congress should be adopting legislation\nto make sure everyone has access to the retirement benefits they have\nearned over a lifetime of work and service.\n  Two little known amendments to the Social Security Act are\ndramatically and unfairly slashing the retirement benefits of hundreds\nof thousands of Americans--teachers and other public school employees,\nfirefighters, police, social workers, and other civil servants--who are\nbeing penalized for their public service. These provisions are just\nplain unfair, and I am committed to working to end the injustices of\nthese two provisions.\n  The Government Pension Offset, GPO, requires that an individual who\nreceives a pension from work that was not covered by Social Security\nhas his or her Social Security spousal benefit substantially reduced.\nThe law allowed an exemption from the GPO if he or she worked in a job\nthat was covered by Social Security on his or her last day of\nemployment. Under the Senate-passed version of H.R. 4070, an individual\nwould be required to work in a Social Security-covered job for the last\n5 years of employment to be exempt from the GPO. The amendment is being\ncharacterized as closing a loophole. This is not a loophole but rather\na mechanism for individuals to obtain the benefits for which they have\npaid. It is an unnecessary and unjust hurdle. Instead of raising the\nbar to achieve these earned benefits, Congress should be eliminating\nthe barriers completely.\n  In addition to the GPO, teachers and certain other workers are\nsubject to the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). This provision\nunfairly harms public servants by reducing--sometimes by as much as\n55.6 percent--the Social Security benefits of federal, state, and local\nemployees who retire from government jobs that are not covered by\nSocial Security.\n\n[[Page E2132]]\n\n  For teachers, the cost is significant. The Government Pension Offset\nand Windfall Elimination Provision affect at least one-third of\nAmerica's education workforce, concentrated in 15 states, including my\nhome state of Texas. But, because people move from state to state,\nthere are affected individuals everywhere. I know from personal\nexperience the penalty hard working teachers pay. My own mother, who\nspent nearly 30 years serving as a teacher in the public schools, has\nbeen adversely affected. We need to attract more people to teaching and\npublic service. Adding onerous and additional unfair requirements to\nobtaining their retirement benefits will not solve the crisis we are\nhaving in attracting and retaining teacher professionals.\n  Since my election to Congress, I have worked to eliminate these two\nprovisions. On March 1, 2001, I introduced H.R. 848, the Social\nSecurity Benefit Restoration Act. This bill will bring equity to\nretirement benefits. It will eliminate the public sector penalty and\nwill allow civil servants to draw full Social Security benefits. I am\nalso a cosponsor of H.R. 2638, the Social Security Fairness Act. This\nbill eliminates the Windfall Elimination Provision as well as the\nGovernment Pension Offset. Finally, I, along with an overwhelming\nmajority of Members, have cosponsored H.R. 664, which also eliminates\nthe Government Pension Offset.\n  My bill and the other legislation to eliminate these unjust\nprovisions have been languishing in the House Ways and Means Committee.\nThese bills are but another example of the long list of things the\nRepublican leadership of the Congress has failed to address. To pass a\nbill that would make retirement less accessible for those who teach our\nchildren is unconscionable. We need to be doing more to strengthen the\nteaching profession and not adopt laws that make teaching less\nattractive to current and prospective teachers.\n  When the 108th Congress convenes next year, I will reintroduce my\nbill and work with my colleagues to eliminate these unfair provisions.\nThousands of Texans who have devoted their lives to teaching and public\nservice are entitled to the benefits they have spent a career earning.\nBasic fairness demands that Congress repeal these provisions and allow\nteachers and other public servants to collect all of their retirement\nbenefits.s\n\n                          ____________________"]], "columns": ["granule_id", "date", "congress", "session", "volume", "issue", "title", "chamber", "granule_class", "sub_granule_class", "page_start", "page_end", "speakers", "bills", "citation", "full_text"], "primary_keys": ["granule_id"], "primary_key_values": ["CREC-2002-11-22-pt1-PgE2131-2"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 19.39710893202573, "source": "Federal Register API & Regulations.gov API", "source_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/developers/api/v1", "license": "Public Domain (U.S. Government data)", "license_url": "https://www.regulations.gov/faq"}