Senate’s Bold Move: Final Push to Skyrocket Social Security Benefits for Millions

The Senate is preparing to vote on legislation providing full Social Security benefits to millions of Americans, laying the stage for passage in the last days of the lame-duck Congress.

On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced that he will begin holding a final vote on the Social Security Fairness Act, which would repeal restrictions that presently limit Social Security payouts for approximately 2.8 million people. According to Schumer, the legislation will “ensure Americans are not erroneously denied their well-earned Social Security benefits simply because they chose at some point to work in their careers in public service.”

The law cleared the House with a bipartisan vote, and a Senate version filed last year received 62 cosponsors. However, to pass Congress, the bill must receive the support of at least 60 senators. It would then go to President Biden. Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana, a Republican who supported identical legislation last year, said he was still “weighing” whether to vote for it next week. “Nothing ever gets paid for, so if it’s further indebtedness, I don’t know,” he told me. 

The bill, which has been in the works for decades, would repeal two federal policies — the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset — that significantly reduce payments to two groups of Social Security recipients: people who also receive a pension from a job that Social Security does not cover, and surviving spouses of Social Security recipients who receive their government pension.

The bill would put more strain on the Social Security Trust Funds, which are already projected to be unable to provide full benefits beginning in 2035. The Congressional Budget Office estimates it will increase government deficits by $195 billion over ten years. The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget also estimates that if passed, the policy would push the Social Security program’s insolvency date forward by about a year and reduce lifetime Social Security benefits by an additional $25,000 for a typical dual-income couple retiring in 2033. Sen. John Thune, the second-ranking Republican in Congress, recognized that the program had substantial bipartisan support but said that some Republicans want it “fixed in the context of a broader Social Security reform effort. “Conservatives have rejected the bill, citing its high cost. “Even for something that people consider to be a good cause, it shows a lack of concern for the country’s future, so I think it would be a big mistake,” the senator added.