Central Louisiana News

U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) has called on Congress to repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), which he argues unfairly penalize local and state government workers receiving Social Security benefits. Cassidy made his appeal ahead of a U.S. Senate Finance Subcommittee field hearing on Social Security, submitting a statement for the record as he was unable to attend due to his trip to Normandy, France, for the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

“Police officers, firefighters, teachers, and other state and local workers play critical roles in communities across the nation. Yet, for many, their Social Security benefits are unfairly reduced simply for serving their local community,” wrote Dr. Cassidy.

Cassidy emphasized that Louisiana is particularly affected by these provisions: “Louisiana has more first responders by population than any other state in the nation, meaning our state is disproportionately impacted by WEP and GPO.”

He further argued that Congress should have repealed these provisions long ago: “Congress is well overdue to repeal these harmful provisions. They should have never become law. We have an opportunity to fix it.”

State and local governments can opt their workforce out of Social Security without employee input; however, when these workers take second jobs or marry someone covered by Social Security, they face penalties under WEP and GPO.

These issues affect various public sector workers who often pursue second careers after early retirements or work additional jobs concurrently. According to Cassidy’s statement, nearly three million Americans are adversely impacted by WEP or GPO.

Highlighting personal stories from his constituents, Cassidy mentioned meeting with a retired Louisiana school teacher affected by GPO: “As she cried in my office, she could not understand why she was getting less in Social Security spousal benefits than if she had never worked at all.”

Cassidy is among 57 U.S. Senators supporting the repeal through the Social Security Fairness Act (S. 597), aiming to ensure full value of earned Social Security benefits for retired public sector workers.

Background information indicates that Cassidy has been active in efforts to preserve and protect Social Security through bipartisan initiatives and public discussions on potential reforms.

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