The House finally looks to repeal WEP and GPO

House lawmakers finally look set to pass legislation to repeal two controversial tax provisions affecting some federal retirees’ annuity benefits, despite an effort this week to derail the vote.

Last September achieved reps. Garret Graves, R-La., and Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., the 218 signatures required on a discharge petition to force a vote on the Social Security Fairness Act (HR 82), a measure that would eliminate Social Security’s windfall elimination provision and public pension compensation. Prior to the petition, the bill already had more than 300 co-sponsors.

The windfall provision reduces Social Security benefits for retired federal employees who spent part of their careers in the private sector in addition to a federal, state, or local government job where Social Security is not intended to be part of their retirement income, such as as the civil service pension system. And the public pension equalization reduces spouse and survivor Social Security benefits in families of retired government employees.

The successful discharge petition requires House of Representatives Mike Johnson, himself a co-sponsor of the bill, to call the measure to a vote when Congress returns to Washington. The measure appears on a list of bills House leadership wants to pass under suspension of the rules, a fast track that requires the support of two-thirds of lawmakers, next week, despite a failed ploy to halt the bill’s momentum by two D.C. – area conservatives this week.

On election day just after 17 held reps. Bob Good, R-Va., and Andy Harris, R-Md., former and current chairmen, respectively, of the House Freedom Caucus, a pro forma session on the House floor in which Good requested unanimous consent to introduce the legislation — effectively killing the bill. The exchange was first reported by Roll call.

But the gambit seems to have failed for two reasons. First, as a House lawmaker could be heard informing Good and Harris on the House floor, unanimous consent requests must first be approved by the Speaker of the House and the House Minority Leader.

And second, while the Freedom Caucus members moved to table Graves and Spanberger’s bill, the discharge petition requires the speaker to schedule a vote on the rule governing the bill’s consideration on the floor. The measure is actually at the top of the House’s list of bills to be considered under suspension of the rules next week, last updated one hour after the proforma session.

It remains unclear how the measure would fare in the Senate, where accompanying legislation has the support of 63 senators but languished in committee since its introduction last year. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the measure will cost $196 billion in additional Social Security benefits over the next decade.