NAPO Update: Reps. Graves and Spanberger Look to Force Vote on Social Security Fairness Act Week of November 12
Congressman Garret Graves (R-LA) and Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), the sponsors of H.R. 82, the Social Security Fairness Act, intend to call the bill up for a vote as soon as Congress returns the evening of November 12. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) then has two days to bring the bill to the floor for a vote. With just over a week to go, we continue to reach out to the now 330 cosponsors of the bill to ensure we can count on their vote when it comes to the floor.
The facts of the matter have not changed, but we repeat them here to ensure you have the information readily available as you talk to your Congressional delegations. Please continue to reach out to your Representative(s) who are cosponsors reiterating the importance of H.R. 82 to you and your members. This link (Cosponsors – H.R.82 – 118th Congress (2023-2024): Social Security Fairness Act of 2023 | Congress.gov | Library of Congress) is a searchable list of cosponsors of H.R. 82 by state and each name is linked to the website and contact information. You can also find the contact information for staff for every office here and a one-pager on the Social Security Fairness Act here.
There are several scenarios for how H.R. 82 could come up for a vote. One possible way is that House leadership could bring it up under suspension of the rules, meaning there will be no debate and no amendments, but we would need 290 votes (two-thirds majority) to pass the bill. That would mean we can only lose 40 cosponsors. If we are not successful in passing the bill under suspension, the discharge petition rules still stand, and the bill can be called up to the floor under regular order for a vote. Our objective is to get a vote on the bill without amendments. It is vital that we keep the vast majority of the 330 cosponsors of the bill standing with us in support of final passage of an unamended H.R. 82.
In our conversations with cosponsors, the biggest concerns we are hearing are the $296 billion price tag for the bill and the fact that it will cause the Social Security Trust Fund to go insolvent earlier than currently predicted. Our answer to that continues to be that the $296 million is not taxpayer dollars that will increase our national debt. It is the money that is being stolen over the next 10 years from public servants’ Social Security benefits. That is $296 billion that will be taken out of the hard-earned monthly Social Security checks of retired law enforcement officers, teachers, nurses, and bus drivers over the next 10 years.
As for the Social Security Trust Fund, according to the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) latest score of H.R. 82, repeal of the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) will only cause it to go insolvent 6 months earlier. Some members of Congress were under the impression it could cut the life of the Trust Fund by a year or more, so it is important that we educate them on the truth. Further, Congress cannot continue to harm the financial security of millions of our nation’s public servants for the next 10 years just to give the Trust Fund 6 additional months of solvency. Congress must do its job and reform Social Security for the sake of all future Social Security beneficiaries regardless of the GPO and WEP.
We are also working to build on the 62 Senate cosponsors and are reaching out to Senate leadership to ensure that the Senate will swiftly take up the bill once it is passed by the House.
Please contact Andy Edmiston, NAPO’s Director of Governmental Affairs, at aedmiston@napo.org or (703) 549-0775 if you have any questions. Thank you in advance for your efforts to help us finally get H.R. 82 across the finish line!
Submit Your TOP COP Nominations Today!
Please take the time to nominate examples of outstanding police work for this prestigious award. We count on you, our members, to help us get the word about TOP COPS out and obtain nominations for officers nationwide. Join us in honoring America’s Finest by nominating a case today. The nomination form is attached and can be found on our website, and it must be postmarked or faxed to (703) 684-0515 by January 10, 2025. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact NAPO’s Director of Events, Elizabeth Loranger, at elorange@napo.org or (703) 549–0775.
2025 will mark the 32nd year that NAPO has hosted the TOP COPS Awards®. The TOP COP Awards® Dinner will take place May 12, 2025, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, again coinciding with National Police Week. With your help and partnership, the TOP COPS Awards® will continue to be a tremendous success!
Join NAPO at Our 36th Annual Pension & Benefits Seminar
February 2 – 4, 2025
Caesars Palace Hotel & Casino ~ Las Vegas, Nevada
Please join the National Association of Police Organizations at NAPO’s 36th Annual Police, Fire, EMS, & Municipal Employee Pension & Benefits Seminar, February 2 – 4, 2025 at the Caesars Palace Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Our seminar has been updated to focus on the results of the 2024 Presidential election and a new Congress in 2025. Greatly increased costs of living appear permanent, and the threat of stagflation remains a cause for concern. The fact that 2024 election will be behind us may lead to stability and growth in equity markets, but the ever-mounting national debt and uncertainty over the new Administration’s economic policies still signal “caution” for many institutional investors and plans. We will continue to address the growing use of AI as well as liability risks & practical advice for fiduciaries. Benefits themselves continue to be viewed as a key component of recruitment and retention. We will examine these areas and more as we evaluate the effect of these trends on public employment benefits and security, and the near- and mid-term future for U.S. and world economic conditions.
Take an active role in improving the future of your fund by registering today. You will find information regarding registration, hotel reservations and the full agenda on NAPO’s website: www.NAPO.org/PB25
If you have any questions or need additional information, please do not hesitate to contact NAPO’s Director of Events, Elizabeth Loranger, at eloranger@napo.org or (703) 549 -0775.
Be on the lookout for the next Washington Report on November 8th for insights and analysis of the election results to date and what they mean for our priorities for the rest of the year and in the 119th Congress.