NCPSSM Letter to House Oppose H.R. 5342 + Support H.R. 82

U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Representative:

On behalf of the millions of members and supporters of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, I am writing to express our strong opposition to H.R. 5342, the "Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act of 2023", because it will cut benefits for 14 million hard-working future retirees. Members of the National Committee come from all walks of life and every political persuasion. What unites them is their passion for protecting and strengthening programs that are vitally important to older Americans.

Although H.R. 5342 is being presented as an alternative to H.R. 82, the "Social Security Fairness Act of 2023", it is severely deficient in two major ways. First, it leaves intact the current law Social Security Government Pension Offset (GPO) provision, thus leaving hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries, about one-half of whom are widows and widowers, losing up to the entirety of their Social Security benefit. And second, H.R. 5342 would expand rather than reduce the reach of the current law Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), cutting the benefits of millions of Americans who are not currently affected by the (WEP).

It is imperative that members of Congress not be misled by the "hold harmless" provision that allows American workers to receive benefits under either the current formula or the new one - whichever is higher - for the next four decades. While this is true, other provisions in the bill would result in benefit cuts for millions of hard-working Americans who were never subject to the WEP in the first place. The Social Security Administration's (SSA) Chief Actuary has projected that H.R. 5342 would cut benefits for 14 million future retirees, while raising benefits for only one million.

While we prefer that the inequities of the GPO and WEP be resolved as part of a comprehensive modernization of the Social Security system such as that proposed by Representative John Larson in the Social Security 2100 Act, the deep flaws in H.R. 5342 make it a completely inadequate alternative to H.R. 82. Unlike H.R. 5342, H.R. 82 completely repeals both the GPO and the WEP, and does not cut benefits for any future retirees.

The National Committee truly hopes that H.R. 5342 does not represent a blueprint for how the Republican leadership of the House of Representatives intends to address the broader issue of Social Security reform. Cutting benefits for a large number of beneficiaries while providing benefit increases for a minority of workers is simply not acceptable to the majority of the American people. Poll after poll has shown broad, bipartisan support for increasing revenue to stabilize Social Security's finances rather than cutting benefits.

We strongly urge all members of the House to oppose H.R. 5342 and support H.R. 82, the Social Security Fairness Act of 2023. Enactment of H.R. 82 will restore the earned Social Security benefits to millions of public servants - including the teachers, police and firefighters who put their lives on the line for our families every day.

Sincerely,

Max Richtman
President and CEO

Source: Social Security Administration, Office of the Chief Actuary, Letter to Representative Jodey Arrington, analysis of H.R. 5342