Action Alert #81 Talk to Congress now!
This is a good time for you to communicate with your Member of the House of Representatives. Congress will be in session until May 26th, until the Memorial Day break. Check out your Congress Person’s position on the GPO/WEP repeal (H.R. 973)and the WEP repeal and re-structure (H.R. 711) bills now. If they have added their name to the list of co-signers, then send them a thank you and reminder of how much you have been hurt by the offsets. Find your Rep. at http://www.house.gov.
(Bookmark your Rep’s page, and plan to send reminders every month or so. We now have more than 4,000 members on our email list—WE CAN MAKE AN IMPACT!)
If they are not on the co-signer list, tell them how unfair the offsets are. Many don’t know how many people’s lives have been affected. Even if they think they know about the offsets, they probably don’t realize that because of the Government Pension Offset, half a million retirees lose ALL their SS benefits. Encourage them to get informed and take a position! Make your case!
Repeal Bill H.R. 973 Rodney Davis (R-Illinois) This is the bill to fully repeal both the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset. One hundred and fifty-one legislators are on record as supporting this bill, but nothing happens unless they get it to a vote. Here is a link to check their position.
H.R. 711 Kevin Brady (Chair of the Ways and Means Committee) Repeal of just the Windfall Elimination Provision and a re-structure the offset. There will still be a reduction of the monthly Social Security retirement benefit with this bill, but current retirees will get about 30% more in their checks. New retirees will get 50% more than they would with the WEP.
Use our information page if you have any questions:
https://ssfairness.org/gpo-wep-information/
The Congressional Research Reports will give you the latest information that is given to Members of Congress.
The Battle in the Courts
Ric Robson, a fellow victim of the WEP, has been working on a way to sue the Federal Government for all the money which we have earned and which has been illegally confiscated from us. Despite the fact that the Federal Government (the IRS) had information that we were earning, or had earned money, from a government entity that did not participate in Social Security, they continued to collect full taxes (FICA contributions) from each of us in our other work. They knew that these contributions would not be fully returned to us in the form of pension benefits, as would be done with other retirees. His lawsuit is written in such a way to benefit all of us affected by both offsets. Each time the judicial system puts a roadblock in his way, he finds another angle to use in his case. We greatly appreciate his work, his persistence and his determination to provide us with the retirement benefits we deserve. A heartfelt thank you to Ric! If you are interested in joining Ric in the battle in the courts, please email him at :
TAKE SOME TIME AND WRITE YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS TODAY!!
Thank you!!!