Press Releases
Williams Goes Against Party Leadership, Joins Bipartisan Group Forcing Vote on Social Security Fairness Act
Washington,
September 19, 2024
“I came into office as a political outsider who believes in common sense solutions to our most pressing issues and that means standing up against my own party when it is for the betterment of Central New York and our working families. For over four decades, our nation’s police officers, firefighters, teachers, and many others have been negatively impacted by the WEP and GPO. They paid into this system for their entire lives—they must not be penalized for doing the right thing. We owe it to our constituents to place the Social Security Fairness Act on the President’s desk, and this Discharge Petition will give us an opportunity to do so before the end of this year.”
WASHINGTON — Today, Congressman Brandon Williams (NY-22) signed Discharge Petition #16, which will force the House of Representatives to hold a floor vote on H.R. 82, the Social Security Fairness Act. Introduced by Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA) and Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), this bill will repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO), which have both been in place for forty years. Rep. Williams, already a cosponsor of this legislation, signed the corresponding Discharge Petition this morning. Rep. Williams released the following statement on his decision to sign the Discharge Petition: “I came into office as a political outsider who believes in common sense solutions to our most pressing issues and that means standing up against my own party when it is for the betterment of Central New York and our working families. For over four decades, our nation’s police officers, firefighters, teachers, and many others have been negatively impacted by the WEP and GPO. They paid into this system for their entire lives—they must not be penalized for doing the right thing. We owe it to our constituents to place the Social Security Fairness Act on the President’s desk, and this Discharge Petition will give us an opportunity to do so before the end of this year.” The full text of the Social Security Fairness Act is available here. GROUPS IN SUPPORT: American Federation of Teachers National Education Association The Fraternal Order of Police National Association of Police Organizations International Association of Fire Fighters The Senior Citizens League National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees National Association of County Office Employees National Treasury Employees Union Federal Managers Association Alliance for Retired Americans National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association National Association of Letter Carriers American Postal Workers Union American Federation of Government Employees National Committee of Preserve Social Security & Medicare National Postal Mail Handlers Union Society of Former Special Agents ### |
