WASHINGTON – A bipartisan, SSocial securityA related bill that would extend benefits to workers who are also eligible for other pensions passed the U.S. House of Representatives this week.

The legislation, called Social Security Fairness Actwill then go to the Senate.

Here’s what you need to know about the bill and who would benefit if it were signed into law:

What is the Social Security Fairness Act, HR 82

The measure would repeal provisions that reduce certain Social Security benefits for people who receive other benefits, such as a state or local government pension, according to the bill’s summary.

More specifically, it would repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Compensation for government pensions (GPO).

The WEP may reduce Social Security benefits for people who worked for an employer that did not withhold Social Security taxes from their wages and are now receiving retirement or disability income. Such an employer may be a government agency or an employer in another country, according to the Social Security Administration.

The bill’s summary states that the GPO “in various cases reduces Social Security benefits for spouses, widows, and widowers who also receive their own government pensions.”

The bill would repeal these provisions and restore full Social Security benefits.

Who would benefit if the bill passes?

If approved, people who receive other benefits, such as a state or local government pension, could benefit.

The bill’s co-sponsors, Republican Rep. Garrett Graves of Louisiana and Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, used teachers as an example.

“Educators who do not receive Social Security in public schools but work part-time or during the summer in jobs covered by Social Security have reduced benefits, even if they pay into the system for enough quarters to receive benefits,” Graves and Spanberger said. in a joint statement.

The bill could also benefit spouses, widows and widowers of people who work as federal, state or local government employees.

THE WEP is currently having an impact approximately 2 million social security beneficiaries, and the GPOs impact nearly 800,000 retirees, according to the Congressional Research Service.

What is the criticism of the bill?

Two leaders of the conservative House Freedom Caucus intervened when the rest of Congress was absent from the Capitol, mostly in home states for Election Day.

Freedom Caucus Chairman Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., and former Chairman Rep. Bob Goode, R-Va., took advantage of a routine pro forma session of the House on Nov. 5 to file quickly part of the measurement.

The Freedom Caucus tends to block new spending, according to the Associated Press, and the bill would add some $196 billion to the federal deficit over a decade, according to estimates by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Graves said that’s the amount people are missing out on without restoring full Social Security benefits.

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What’s next for the Social Security Fairness Act?

To advance the legislation, the bill’s sponsors, Graves and Spanberger, used a rarely successful process called a discharge petition. They collected the minimum 218 signatures needed from House lawmakers to dislodge the bill from committee and send it to a vote.

On Tuesday, some 327 House lawmakers voted to support the bill.

The move is often seen as an affront to House leaders, particularly the House speaker and majority leader who determine the session schedule, according to the Associated Press.

But Spanberger and Graves — both of whom did not seek re-election — had little to lose, and House Speaker Mike Johnson supported the bill before becoming speaker.

The measure now heads to the Senate, where it has 62 co-sponsors.

“We encourage Senate leaders to build on this clear momentum, put our bipartisan effort to a vote, and ensure retirement security for Americans who have earned it,” the bill’s co-sponsors said in a statement. .

It would then go to the president That of Joe Biden desk. If enacted, the summary states the changes will take effect for benefits payable after December 2023.