Blog
2021 Legislative Conference: WEP-GPO Repeal
NCPERS hosted our Annual Legislative Conference webast on Tuesday, April 20, 2021. First, NCPERS heard from The Honorable Rodney Davis (R-IL). Following is a transcription of his remarks.
WEP-GPO Repeal
[Hank H. Kim introduction of The Honorable Rodney Davis (R-IL)] The Honorable Rodney Davis is currently serving his fourth term in Congress in the 13th district of Illinois, a district covering both urban and rural areas of central and Southwest Illinois. Representative Davis serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Additionally, he is the ranking member on the Committee on House Administration, a committee responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Federal Elections representative. Rep. Davis also serves on the Committee on Agriculture, where he continues to focus on issues important to Illinois farmers and helping people get out of poverty and into good paying jobs during his time in Congress. Rep. Davis has distinguished himself as an effective lawmaker who is able to work with his colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass legislation.
Hi, this is Rodney Davis, member of Congress from central Illinois and a longtime advocate for both the WEP and GPO repeal before being elected to Congress. Back in 2012, I worked for former Congressman John Shimkus for 16 years as a staffer, and as a member today, I continue to hear from constituents who are or who've have been public employees. And the number one issue that they talk about is a Windfall Elimination Provision [WEP] and Government Pension Offset [GPO] of Social Security. Through my years talking to people back in Illinois about these issues, I've realized the damage these policies cause. They cause so many [issues for] our public employees, our teachers, our police officers, firefighters, and more. Because of this, the first bill I introduced after being elected in 2012 was the Social Security Fairness Act, legislation to completely repeal both the WEP and the GPO.
I'm proud to say I've introduced this bill to every single Congress since then. Organizations like yours are key to helping us build a strong coalition of supporters, co-sponsors, and advocates. Because this legislation is something that we can finally put enough pressure on. I hope with your help, congressional leadership will bring to the house floor a vote. None of you asked to be penalized by this unfair policy. And that's why I'm so passionate to pass this bill. While some of my colleagues have their own ideas about incremental and temporary fixes, there's only one bill in Congress that would completely repeal both the WEP and GPO. And that's my bill, H.R. 82, the Social Security Fairness Act. Last Congress, we had over 260 co-sponsors, the most in over 10 years. And we look forward to garnering even more support for the 117th [Congress]. I'm eager to work with each of you to ensure that you receive the social security benefits you've earned. We cannot do this without you. Continue educating your own members of Congress on the issue, and we will continue gaining co-sponsors. Thank you for allowing me to speak today. I appreciate your support in moving this bill forward.
All NCPERS Legislative Conference transcripts are edited for readability and continuity.
Comments
There have been no comments made on this article. Why not be the first and add your own comment using the form below.
Leave a comment
Please complete the form below to submit a comment on this article. A valid email address is required to submit a comment though it will not be displayed on the site.
HTML has been disabled but if you wish to add any hyperlinks or text formatting you can use any of the following codes: [B]bold text[/B], [I]italic text[/I], [U]underlined text[/U], [S]
strike through text[/S], [URL]http://www.yourlink.com[/URL], [URL=http//www.yourlink.com]your text[/URL]