Major Social Security Bill Passes Key Senate Vote – Here’s What It Means for You

The Senate is considering the Social Security Fairness Act, clearing the first procedural obstacle on what backers hope would lead to passage later this week.

The Senate voted 73-27 to move the bill, which could result in enhanced Social Security payouts for some Americans if it passes before Congress departs this week. The bill would eliminate the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset.

Supporters argue that overhauling the tax system is critical to preventing unfair benefit cuts for millions of people who have worked in public service. However, experts have expressed concern about the move, claiming that the laws it targets are designed to prevent some beneficiaries from receiving both their pensions and comparatively bigger Social Security payouts than earned.

The bill passed with overwhelming support in the House and has supporters on both sides of the aisle. That includes Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), a well-known conservative and deficit hawk recently elected as Indiana’s next governor. When asked about the expected cost of the bill, Braun told The Hill on Wednesday that he was “going to vote for it, simply because it’s an inequity.” “Normally, if there were no money for it, I would not vote for anything I agreed with. I’ve only done so when I felt an injustice at the root of the problem,” he explained.

On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) argued that the bill would “ensure no American who has chipped into Social Security is wrongly denied their well-earned benefits.” “This midday, we will vote whether or not to take up the Social Security Fairness Act, a bill eliminating two flawed policies that eat away at the pensions of many Americans who, at one time or another, worked as educators, firemen, postal workers, or other public sector workers.” Some Republicans have raised alarm about what this means for the program’s insolvency date.