Social Security Offsets, Senate Hearing

I was honored to represent MNEA and Springfield teachers in Washington, D.C. last week. Teachers from fifteen states were part of an all-day lobbying effort aimed at convincing legislators that Social Security offsets were penalizing public service professionals. Our goal was to see as many legislators as possible and try to make them aware of the seriousness of this issue and the negative effect is has on public education in general. We strongly urged them to sign on as co-sponsors of bills that would repeal these unfair laws.


More than 200,000 petition signatures were delivered to the Russell Senate Building . . . some 20,000 were from Missouri.

The Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) legislation, passed during the Reagan administration, were intended to eliminate "double-dipping" from what was perceived to be a strapped social security system. The unintended result was that public employees (teachers, police, fire fighters) were unable to draw full social security benefits even if they had contributed to Social Security for years.

Now, at long last, it looks as though the Senate is beginning to address the issue by holding a subcommittee hearing, chaired by John Kerry (D-MA) and strongly supported by Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Diane Feinstein (D-California). Here's a link to more information on the hearing, including a video of the proceedings:

http://finance.senate.gov/sitepages/hearing110607.htm

Our lobbying effort included visits to Kit Bond, Roy Blunt, Sam Graves, Ike Skelton and Claire McCaskill. Representative Blunt's office was particularly receptive and supportive, and since he is the minority whip in the House, his influence may help move the issue on a faster track. Blunt's aides went so far as to predict that Blunt would support an override of an expected White House veto. The total cost of fixing the GPO/WEP fiasco would total some $80 billion.

So far, some 331 House members and 35 Senators have signed on as co-sponsors of the Social Security Fairness Act (HR 82, S206). Blunt and McCaskill are co-sponsors.

If you'd like to voice your concerns on this issue by signing an electronic petition and/or contacting a legislator, visit the NEA Legislative Action Center.


Thanks again to all of you who contributed to the small mountain of petitions stacked up at the press conference and to the Springfield teachers who submitted letters for the Senate record. A sub-committee hearing is a first step. We'll be monitoring progress on this issue and continue to keep you informed.