Social Security bill tied up after Election Night maneuver

Members of the House Freedom Caucus orchestrated an unusual play on the House floor on Election Night that resulted in killing, at least for now, a broadly popular Social Security bill that was set to hit the floor for a vote as soon as next week, Roll Call reported.

Reps. Garret Graves, R-La., and Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., had successfully rounded up the 218 signatures needed for a discharge petition to bypass GOP leaders and bring up House Resolution 82, bipartisan legislation that would repeal two long-standing provisions docking Social Security benefits for certain retirees, including teachers in Texas and several other states. With 330 co-sponsors, including Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., passage of the Social Security Fairness Act was all but guaranteed. HR 82 would repeal the "windfall elimination provision" and "government pension offset," which reduce Social Security benefits for those who spent portions of their careers in state and local government or other positions where their earnings weren't subject to Social Security taxes.

On Tuesday night while presiding over a 7-minute pro forma session, Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., recognized Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., for a unanimous consent request. Good's request to lay the Social Security bill on the table was agreed to by unanimous consent, with no one else in the chamber to object. In this context, laying the bill on the table has the same effect under House rules as defeating a bill on the floor, Roll Call reported. So, HR 82 is dead for the time being.

Since the discharge petition was filed on the rule for consideration, not the bill itself, the rule could still be called up for a vote under discharge procedures, which if adopted would remove the bill from the table and allow a vote, Roll Call reported. Alternatively, a brand new, identical bill could simply be introduced - as early as this Friday's pro forma session - and that measure put up for a vote under suspension of the rules as soon as next week.

Even if the bill ends up passing the House, its $196 billion price tag and limited time remaining in the session make it an uphill climb to clear the Senate, although it has more than enough backers in that chamber to overcome a filibuster.

In early September, TCTA sent letters to Texas congressional members encouraging them to sign onto the discharge petition. TCTA will continue to monitor proceedings in Congress and push for a repeal of the WEP and GPO.

Updates from the Capitol

Publication Date

Category

• Retirement