Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On This Week’s Vote On The Bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act

Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor on the upcoming vote on cloture on the motion to proceed to the Social Security Fairness Act, which will repeal harmful policies impacting public retirees ensuring they receive their well-deserved Social Security benefits. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

This week, the Senate will vote to take up a bipartisan piece of legislation that impacts millions of public retirees and their spouses – the Social Security Fairness Act. I’m proud to co-sponsor this bill with my good friend Senator Brown as a staunch an advocate for working Americans, and he is a very staunch advocate as well.

The Senate has a golden opportunity to deliver for our retired firefighters, postal workers, teachers, other public servants who are retired by passing the Social Security Fairness Act this week.

The bill would ensure no public retiree or spouse is denied their well-deserved social security benefits, by repealing two widely criticized policies that have eaten away at the benefits of millions of people – the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). Many of these retirees have contributed towards Social Security for years, but are being penalized because at one point they worked as a teacher, a firefighter, a postal worker, a police officer, or some other public sector job.

This bill has already won immense support from Democrats and Republicans alike – in fact the House passed this bill with an overwhelming 327 to 75 vote margin. There is no reason for the outcome to be different in the Senate.

Senate Democrats are ready to vote yes on this legislation – we hope our Republican colleagues will join us.

Retirees have been pushing for action on WEP and GPO for decades, and this week the Senate is going to act. We will vote and every Senator will choose. Where are you? Do you stand on the side of public retirees who deserve their benefits, or bungle this golden opportunity by blocking this bill?

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