STCC_PROFESIONAL_ASSOCIATION_SOCIAL SECURITY OFFSET

Social Security Offset reference

National Education Association (NEA)
www.nea.org/lac/socsec

Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA)
www.massteacher.org/career/retired

We now have 141 cosponsors for the new GPO/WEP bill H.R. 82.

The Senate bill (S.206) continues to have four cosponsors-Senators
Feinstein (D-CA), Collins (R-ME), Lautenberg (D-NJ), and Snowe (R-ME).

1-866-327-8670 is the toll-free number to Congress to urge your rep & senator to sign as a cosponsor. Check the list & see if your rep is on board.

Sept 5, 2007
Hi everyone
Good news !! The latest scuttlebutt from Congress is that a promised hearing on the Social Security Fairness Act could come as early as October. The legislation enjoys the co-sponsorship of some 325 members--more than two-thirds--of the U.S. House and 34 U.S. senators. The hearing, promised by the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee,would be the first ever for this vital legislation, which would repeal two unfair offsets.. More than a million public employees are adversely affected by these reductions, known as the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision.
So get those petitions signed & send them in. Here's your chance to help do somethingto advance our cause & increase your retirement income with money you honestly deserve. If you need a petition email me or pick one up Friday at the college meeting. JUST DO IT!!!!
thanks & keep up the activism on our behalf
carole

We have received this VERY DiSAPPOINTING message from our NEA president Reg Weaver. GPO/WEP is not high on his priority list. NEA will do very little to help us at this critical time when we are so close to enacting the repeal of GPO/WEP. Read the following message from Reggie & see how unimportant this dreadful & unfair policy is to him. We have to convince him that this NEA must stand up at this grave time & furiously work to repeal GPO/WEP.We have the cosponsors.We now need help to push this legislation to the floor for a vote. It's time to act!!! Send out your emails today!!!
If you all could send e-mails and such to Reg Weaver atthe NEA web site at www.nea.org, maybe they will reconsider. Send some
to Al Campos, too, Reg is RWeaver@NEA.org and Al is acampos@nea.org. If I had to guess, I would bet that John Wilson is JWilson@nea.org

Subject: Message from Reg Weaver and John Wilson on GPO/WEP Activities
March 20, 2007
Memorandum
TO:
GPO/WEP Activists
FROM:
Reg Weaver
John Wilson
RE:
GPO/WEP Legislative Activities

Thank you all very much for the excellent work you have done and
continue to do in the fight to repeal the Government Pension Offset
(GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). Many of you have been
asking us how our campaign to repeal the offsets will proceed in the
coming months and what the next steps are that you can take to move us
toward our goal. We would like to take this opportunity to give you
some information about NEA's current priorities and how the GPO/WEP
efforts fit into our agenda.
As you may know, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), most
recently reauthorized as the No Child Left Behind Act, is up for
reauthorization this year. Advancing NEA's Positive Agenda for the ESEA
Reauthorization to address the many concerns about the law's impact on
educators and the students they serve is now our top legislative
priority. We have reorganized our staff into an ESEA Campaign with
lobbying, grassroots, and media components. Many of our lobbyists, as
well as grassroots, field, and policy staff, will be spending most, if
not all, of their time on this ESEA Campaign.
We will also be focusing our grassroots activities on the ESEA Campaign.
Because we do not want to confuse our message, we do not anticipate
holding lobby days or grassroots calls to action on other issues,
including GPO/WEP, in the near future. We will continue, however, to
send out our weekly cyber alerts on any education-related issues moving
in Congress and needing immediate attention.
Our focus on ESEA reauthorization does not in any way diminish our
efforts to repeal GPO/WEP. Much of our work on the issue will proceed
uninterrupted. For example:
* NEA lobbyist Al Campos will continue to lobby Congress to move
the Social Security Fairness Act forward for debate and vote.
* We will continue to look for and take advantage of every
opportunity to push the GPO/WEP message in every available forum and on
every potential legislative vehicle. For example, NEA has been invited
to testify this week before the Senate Finance Committee (which has
jurisdiction over Social Security as well as tax policy and other
financial issues). The focus of the hearing is on ways in which that
particular committee can help strengthen public education. Repeal of
the GPO and WEP will feature prominently in NEA's testimony.
* Our grassroots cadre will continue their work in the states to
build grassroots support for repeal. Each cadre team will continue to
receive funding for their work.
* We will continue to send out periodic updates on the progress
of the Social Security Fairness Act, including the latest cosponsors.
* Our website will continue to feature advocacy tools and the
latest news on the fight for repeal and will continue to allow activists
to e-mail Members of Congress on this issue.
* We will continue to collect stories of impacted individuals for
use with Congress and the media.
* We will continue our work with the Coalition to Assure
Retirement Equity, which includes organizations representing police,
firefighters, federal employees, and other impacted populations.
We hope this information helps clarify NEA's work on GPO/WEP in the
context of our focus on ESEA reauthorization. If you have any
questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

CALL TO ACTION!!
Here's the latest

Press Conference Scheduled on Social Security Fairness Act

Representatives Berman (D-CA) and McKeon (R-CA) have scheduled a press
conference for Tuesday, February 6 to announce the Social Security
Fairness Act (H.R. 82) and call attention to the need for repeal of the
Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision. NEA
President Reg Weaver has been invited to speak at the press conference.

CALL TO ACTION: February 5-9.
To correspond with the press event in Washington, DC, NEA is sponsoring
a Call to Action with a focus on garnering media attention around the
offsets.

During this week write letters to your newspaper, call your reps & senators ( HR 82 IN THE HOUSE S 206 in Senate)
Do whatever you can to help our cause. Get everyone you know to call their reps & senators
...we are now at 162 in the House and 8 in the Senate!!!

House: Representatives Ackerman (D-NY), Andrews (D-NJ), Baldwin (D-WI),
Bean (D-IL), Burgess (R-TX), Calvert (R-CA), Davis (R-VA), Garrett
(R-NJ), Gohmert (R-TX), Granger (R-TX), Hinchey (D-NY), Lampson (D-TX),
Lynch (D-MA), McCotter (R-MI), Meehan (D-MA), Neugebauer (R-TX), Renzi
(R-AZ), Rogers (R-KY), Shays (R-CT), Slaughter (D-NY), Young (R-FL).

Senate: Senators Leahy (D-VT), Cantwell (D-WA)

Join the Fight! Make Your Voice Heard!
Take Part in NEA's Nationwide Calls to Action!

HI ALL
HERE IS A LIST OF THOSE WHO HAVE SIGNED THE DISCGARGE PETITION SOME OF OUR REPS ARE MISSING FFROM THIS LIST
THIS RESOLUTION MUST COME BEFORE CONGRESS 6 DAYS PRIOR TO THE END OF THE SESSION
KEEP UP THE PRESSURE
carole

Wednesday, September 20, 2006
1. Lloyd Doggett Texas 25
2. Gene Green Texas 29
3. Henry Cuellar Texas 28
4. Michael H. Michaud Maine 02
5. Wm. Lacy Clay Missouri 01
6. Michael F. Doyle Pennsylvania 14
7. Jane Harman California 36
8. Sheila Jackson-Lee Texas 18
9. Eddie Bernice Johnson Texas 30

Thursday, September 21, 2006
10. Silvestre Reyes Texas 16
11. Raúl M. Grijalva Arizona 07
12. Solomon P. Ortiz Texas 27
13. Ike Skelton Missouri 04
14. Rubén Hinojosa Texas 15
15. Bart Gordon Tennessee 06
16. Timothy H. Bishop New York 01
17. Stephen F. Lynch Massachusetts 09
18. Susan A. Davis California 53
19. Stephanie Herseth South Dakota 00
20. Betty McCollum Minnesota 04
21. Al Green Texas 09
22. Marion Berry Arkansas 01
23. Julia Carson Indiana 07
24. Bart Stupak Michigan 01
25. Mike Ross Arkansas 04
26. Robert E. (Bud) Cramer, Jr. Alabama 05
27. Ben Chandler Kentucky 06
28. James R. Langevin Rhode Island 02
29. Dale E. Kildee Michigan 05
30. Allyson Y. Schwartz Pennsylvania 13
31. William J. Jefferson Louisiana 02
32. Dennis A. Cardoza California 18
33. Bobby L. Rush Illinois 01
34. John F. Tierney Massachusetts 06

Monday, September 25, 2006
35. Grace F. Napolitano California 38
36. Lois Capps California 23
37. Shelley Berkley Nevada 01
38. Peter A. DeFazio Oregon 04
39. James P. McGovern Massachusetts 03
40. Janice D. Schakowsky Illinois 09
41. Tim Ryan Ohio 17
42. Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. Georgia 02
43. G. K. Butterfield North Carolina 01
44. Barney Frank Massachusetts 04
45. Albert Russell Wynn Maryland 04
46. Thomas H. Allen Maine 01

Tuesday, September 26, 2006
47. Carolyn McCarthy New York 04
48. Charles B. Rangel New York 15
49. Doris O. Matsui California 05
50. Tammy Baldwin Wisconsin 02
51. David E. Price North Carolina 04
52. Mike Thompson California 01
53. Lynn C. Woolsey California 06
54. Linda T. Sánchez California 39
55. Loretta Sanchez California 47
56. Rick Larsen Washington 02
57. Michael E. Capuano Massachusetts 08
58. Dennis Moore Kansas 03
59. Robert Wexler Florida 19
60. Gary L. Ackerman New York 05
61. Tom Udall New Mexico 03
62. Tim Holden Pennsylvania 17
63. Adam B. Schiff California 29
64. Steven R. Rothman New Jersey 09
65. Michael M. Honda California 15
66. Charles A. Gonzalez Texas 20
67. Hilda L. Solis California 32
68. Russ Carnahan Missouri 03
69. Fortney Pete Stark California 13
70. James P. Moran Virginia 08
71. Henry A. Waxman California 30
72. Anna G. Eshoo California 14
73. William D. Delahunt Massachusetts 10
74. Rosa L. DeLauro Connecticut 03
75. Marcy Kaptur Ohio 09
76. Maurice D. Hinchey New York 22
77. John B. Larson Connecticut 01
78. Xavier Becerra California 31
79. Jerrold Nadler New York 08
80. Bob Filner California 51
81. Eliot L. Engel New York 17
82. George Miller California 07
83. Robert E. Andrews New Jersey 01
84. Chet Edwards Texas 17
85. David Wu Oregon 01
86. Sherrod Brown Ohio 13
87. Frank Pallone, Jr. New Jersey 06
88. Robert A. Brady Pennsylvania 01
89. Chaka Fattah Pennsylvania 02

Wednesday, September 27, 2006
90. Nita M. Lowey New York 18
91. Charlie Melancon Louisiana 03
92. Joe Baca California 43
93. John Conyers, Jr. Michigan 14
94. Michael R. McNulty New York 21
95. Patrick J. Kennedy Rhode Island 01
96. Lane Evans Illinois 17
97. Dan Boren Oklahoma 02
98. Elijah E. Cummings Maryland 07
99. Stephanie Tubbs Jones Ohio 11
100. Carolyn B. Maloney New York 14
101. Lucille Roybal-Allard California 34
102. John W. Olver Massachusetts 01
103. Rush D. Holt New Jersey 12
104. Chris Van Hollen Maryland 08
105. Melissa L. Bean Illinois 08

Thursday, September 28, 2006
106. Luis V. Gutierrez Illinois 04
107. Alcee L. Hastings Florida 23
108. Juanita Millender-McDonald California 37
109. Kendrick B. Meek Florida 17
110. Maxine Waters California 35
111. Brian Higgins New York 27
112. Anthony D. Weiner New York 09
113. Jim Davis Florida 11

TFT LEGISLATIVE HOTLINE--THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2006
(copyright 2006 Texas Federation of Teachers)

Discharge Petition Filed to Force Vote on Social Security
Fairness in U.S. House; Ask Your Member of Congress to Sign It!

Congressman Lloyd Doggett, Democrat of Austin today filed a
discharge petition (H. Res. 987) sought by TFT to force a prompt
U.S. House floor vote on the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R.
147). The Fairness Act would repeal two unjust offsets that cut
Social Security pension benefits drastically for most Texas
school employees and many other public employees. But the bill
has been bottled up in a subcommittee by the House leadership
since January 2005, despite cosponsorship of the measure by the
vast majority of House members (323 at latest count).
Congressman Doggett's petition is a parliamentary device that
would break the leadership blockade and force a vote on the
Fairness Act if signed by a simple majority of House
members--218. Under House rules, we understand that the petition
will be eligible for signature seven legislative days from
today.

Please ask your member of the U.S. House to make a commitment to
you now to sign the discharge petition at the earliest
opportunity. You can call your House member toll-free on the TFT
line to the U.S. Capitol switchboard, 1-866-327-8670. And
starting on Friday, September 8, you can go to the TFT Web site
at http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/socialsecurity7 and send
an already-prepared letter by e-mail asking your member of the
House to sign the discharge petition and finally bring the
Social Security Fairness Act to a vote.

Here's the full text of the letter you can send straight from
our Web site starting tomorrow:
(but those of you who are not members of TFT can send this or a similar
letter through the "Thomas" Congressional web site if you prefer)

As your constituent I ask you to sign the discharge petition (H.
Res. 987) introduced on September 7 to bring the Social Security
Fairness Act (H.R. 147) to a prompt vote on the House floor.
This discharge petition will be available for you to sign seven
legislative days after introduction.

The Social Security Fairness Act would repeal two unjust Social
Security provisions that hurt more than a million teachers,
school support personnel, police officers, firefighters, and
other public servants nationwide. These offset provisions reduce
or eliminate earned Social Security benefits for retirees who
receive pensions for non-Social Security-covered employment. The
offsets apply only to public pensions--recipients of private
pensions are not subject to such penalties.

While these Social Security benefit reductions may have been
intended to curtail payments of windfall benefits to highly paid
individuals, in practice they have had devastating consequences
for low- and middle-income public employees. These provisions
are the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the so-called
Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). Each of these provisions
can reduce monthly Social Security benefits drastically.

The GPO reduces a Social Security survivor's benefit by
two-thirds of his or her public pension that is not covered by
Social Security--wiping out the survivor's benefit entirely for
many workers. The WEP currently can take away up to $328 a
month of Social Security benefits earned by a state or local
public employee who has contributed to Social Security for as
many as 20 years, and the WEP does not phase out completely
until a worker has 30 years of covered Social Security
employment.

Besides being unfair to those who have paid into Social Security
but are being denied its full benefits, these provisions have
perverse effects. For example, by targeting pensions of teachers
and other school employees, these Social Security benefit cuts
discourage qualified individuals from entering and staying in
the classroom?at exactly the time when our nation faces a severe
shortage of qualified educators.

I urge you to sign your name to the discharge petition to
release the Social Security Fairness Act from the subcommittee
where it has been buried by the leadership since January 2005.
An overwhelming majority of House members--some 323 at latest
count--have cosponsored this bill. But the only way now to
obtain a vote on the bill before the current session of Congress
ends is for 218 House members--a simple majority--to take the
next step and sign the discharge petition. Please let me know
that you will become one of those crucial 218 at the earliest
opportunity

Help spread the word and build momentum toward repeal of the Government
Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). Join
NEA's Nationwide Call to Action on the following dates:

* July 31-August 4 (congressional recess - Members of Congress
will be back home in their districts)

* September 5-8 (Congress returns from recess and is in session)

* September 25-September 29 (Congress in session)

Suggested Activities:

* Ask your Governor to write a letter to Congress and your state
legislature to pass a resolution calling on Congress to repeal the GPO
and WEP.

* Get your school board and principal involved. Explain how the
offsets are hindering recruitment of talented educators.

* Visit lawmakers in their district offices with a group of public
employees.

* Organize a rally to send a clear message about the unfair GPO
and WEP.

* Host a town hall meeting with a wide cross section of public
employees.

* Organize a call-in day. Call the Capitol switchboard at
202/224-3121 and ask for your Representative and Senators by name.

* Deliver postcards to Members of Congress in their local offices.

* Go to http://www.nea.org/lac/socsec/offsets.html
and send an e-mail message to Congress; ask friends, family, and co-workers to do
the same.

* Submit a letter to the editor or an op-ed to your local
newspaper.

* Reach out to police, firefighters, and other impacted groups in
your area to form a coalition in support of repeal.

Cosponsors Reach All-Time High

The House version of the Social Security Fairness Act now boasts 321
bipartisan cosponsors. The latest cosponsors are Representatives: Renzi
(R-AZ), Brown-Waite (R-FL), Deal (R-GA), Davis (R-KY), Northup (R-KY),
Whitfield (R-KY), Upton (R-MI), Kennedy (R-MN), Graves (R-MO), Terry
(R-NE),Tiberi (R-OH), Cole (R-OK), Dent (R-PA), Blackburn (R-TN),
Jackson-Lee (D-TX), and Poe (R-TX).

The Senate bill now has 28 bipartisan cosponsors. The newest additions
are: Senators Akaka (D-HI), Menendez (D-NJ), Reid (D-NV), and DeWine
(R-OH).

See complete cosponsor lists for both the House and Senate bill as well
as additional information on NEA's campaign to repeal the offsets at
http://www.nea.org/lac/socsec/offsets.html

Governor Schwarzenegger Calls for Repeal of GPO/WEP

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) has written a letter to
Representative McKeon (R-CA)-one of the primary sponsors of the Social
Security Fairness Act - supporting full repeal of the GPO and WEP. In
the April 19 letter, Governor Schwarzenegger states that "failure to
repeal these punitive Social Security provisions will deter teachers
from ntering the profession and further exacerbate our teacher
shortage."

feb 21,2006

SOME GOOD NEWS!!

WASHINGTON, D.C. - House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today
released the following statement praising the Steering Committee's
selection of Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon (R-CA) for Chairman of the
Education & the Workforce Committee:

"I'm pleased with the selection of my good friend and colleague, Buck
McKeon, for the chairmanship of the Education & the Workforce Committee.
We worked closely together during my tenure as Chairman, and I have seen
firsthand his ability to lead on key education and competitiveness
issues. With the President's call for bolstering our commitment to
enhancing the competitiveness of American workers, Buck's selection
couldn't be more timely."

Remember McKeon is the original sponsor of HR 147 & is our major champion if fighting to repeal GPO & WEP. This is good for us to have a friend & ally move into such a powerful position. He is also on close terms with majority leader Rep Boehmer which might work to our advantage.

Chair of the social security subcommittee is Rep James McCreary, R LA. La is one of the states effected by GPO/WEP so if you know anyone in that state who lives in his district please encourage them to write him.

We picked up 5 new cosponsors & now have 305 cosponsors for HR 147

thanks
carole

Oct 22, 2005
Don"t forget GPO/WEP
There were 293 cosponsors on the House bill last week -- almost back to the 300 of last
year. Rep. McKeon would like for everyone to work toward beating last year's number of 300!

Whether Congress will do anything on Social Security this year is unclear. It appeared "hot" for a while and then fell out of favor. Now, Chairman Thomas would like to push a comprehensive pension, Social
Security, tax package.

In a nutshell, the best thing we can be doing at this time is just to keep on doing what we have been at for the past few years! Our legislators are all signed on & so we need to encourage them to keep working for passage of HR147 and S619. Thank them for their efforts, and try to talk to them in person whenever possible. Remind them there are thousands being denied earned retirement benefits by the offsets. Thousands more are being added to this list each & every year as more of our colleagues retire, Talk to your friends & relative in other states & have them write their legislators. Those benefits could make a big difference in life quality...a disaster relief of an every day sort without a huge weather system or act of God to draw it to the national attention!

We cannot let the GPO-WEP problem get pushed to the background or we may someday wake up to find that Social Security has been addressed and once again we have been left out!

So--as we have been saying for years....please write and ask for support. Remember...HR147 and S619
thanks
carole

Sept 7, 2005

NOTICE THE INCREASE IN THE COSPONSOR NUMBER FOR BILLS 147 & 619

Congress returns following the Labor Day holiday to tackle a full
agenda, which includes a variety of retirement security issues,
including Social Security.

Sen. James DeMint (R- SC) and Rep. James McCrery (R-LA), Chairman of
the House Ways and Means Committee's Subcommittee on Social
Security, have introduced proposals that would divert Social Security
Trust Fund surpluses into individual private accounts.

The House Ways and Means Committee is expected to consider a
retirement security package including Social Security reform, pension
reform, retirement savings and tax reform sometime in September.
GPO-WEP reform may or may not be included in the final package.
Mandatory Social Security is still an item of concern in both the
House and Senate. The Senate will also consider Social Security reform
in a comprehensive way sometime this fall. Floor action in the House
and Senate could occur this fall, but likely not until October at the
earliest.

Co-sponsors of legislation to fully repeal both the Government Pension
Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision continue to grow. The
House version of the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 147) now has
284 co-sponsors, while the Senate version (S. 619) has 23 co-sponsors.

All members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation are
co-sponsors of this legislation. The cosponsors include both Democrats
and Republicans

Mar 17, 2005

More Cosponsors Sign On to Full Repeal Bills:

Support for full repeal of the Government Pension Offset and Windfall
Elimination Provision continues to grow. The House version of the
Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 147) now boasts 221 bipartisan
cosponsors. The latest additions are Representatives:

Bud Cramer (D-AL)
John Tierney (D-MA)
Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD)
Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD)
Bill Pascrell (D-NJ)
Dan Boren (D-OK)
Stephanie Herseth (D-SD)
Henry Cuellar (D-TX)

On March 14, Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Susan Collins (R-ME)
introduced the Social Security Fairness Act, which would completely
repeal both the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination
Provision. The Senate bill number is S. 619. Original cosponsors are:

Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA)
Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT)
Senator Mark Dayton (D-MN)
Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL)

the addition of John Kerry (D-MA) brings the total to
nine cosponsors of the Senate version of the Social Security Fairness
Act (S. 619).

Jan 25, 2005

Several interesting events have occurred concerning GPO/WEP
Remember I sent out an email indicating Rep Matsui would be chairman Well he died & so that was the reason he did not assume that position.
Rep Jim McCrery R LA is the new chairman. Clay Shaw is still on the committee, just not chairman
An article in this morning's newspaper is predicting that our own Ritchie Neal who is a senior member of the
Ways & Means committee will be appointed to the social security sub committee. This is very good news because he is supportive of our position
We need to again email our reps to sign on as cosponsors to the new bill HR 147 to REPEAL both the GPO & WEP

Jan 11, 2005

Representatives McKeon (R-CA) and Berman (D-CA) have reintroduced
legislation that would completely repeal both the Government Pension
Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision. The new bill number is
H.R. 147. Upon introduction, the bill already had more that 120 bipartisan
cosponsors!

The following members of the Massachusetts Congressional delegation are already cosponsors of H.R. 147:

Â· Michael Capuano
Â· William Delahunt
Â· Stephen Lynch
Â· James McGovern
Â· John Olver

The following members of the Massachusetts delegation are not cosponsors of H.R. 147.
Contact your member of the delegation and ask him to support H.R. 147.

Â· Barney Frank
Â· Edward Markey
Â· Marty Meehan
Â· John Tierney
Â· Richard Neal

You can e mail other members of the delegation at: http://capwiz.com/nea/ma/state/main/?state=MA

Ask your congressman to support H.R. 147.

October 23, 2004

Hello all
We need to email barrage Cong. Bill Thomas to move H.R. 4391 out of committee & onto the floor for a vote. A partial solution is better than no solution.A little more money is better than no money
thanks
Carole

Tell Congress to Vote on WEP Bill!
NEA continues to push for movement on the Public Servant Retirement Protection Act
(PSRPA - H.R. 4391/S.2455), which would partially fix the Windfall Elimination
Provision. The decision to move the bill now rests squarely with House Ways and
Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas (R-CA). .

Action Needed
Tell Members of Congress who support GPO/WEP repeal to urge Chairman Thomas to let the WEP bill move!

October 8, 2004

Tell Congress to Vote on WEP Bill!

NEA continues to push for movement on the Public Servant Retirement
Protection Act (PSRPA - H.R. 4391/S.2455), which would partially fix
the Windfall Elimination Provision. The decision to move the bill now
rests squarely with House Ways & Means Committee Chairman, Rep.
Bill Thomas (R-CA). Congress will recess October 8 for the Election,
but will return November 15 for a "lame duck" session that
could last into December.

Action Needed

Tell Chairman Thomas to move the WEP bill forward for a vote before
Congress adjourns for the year! [Chairman Thomas, House Ways and Means
Committee, 202-225-2915 (ph), 202-225-8798 (fax)]

Tell Members of Congress who support GPO/WEP repeal to urge Chairman
Thomas to let the WEP bill move.
[http://capwiz.com/nea/utr/1/ITJODWXENK/MOFBDWXEOV/

Advocacy Works!

A worksheet to assist in calculating the impact of the Public Servant
Retirement Protection Act (H.R. 4391/S.2455) on Social Security
benefits is now available on the NEA Web site at
http://www.nea.org/lac/socsec/
Just click in the blue "Breaking News" box to access it. The

Please note that the worksheet is intended to provide only an estimate
of the impact of benefits of the proposed legislation. We have also
provided a link from the worksheet to the Social Security
Administration's WEP calculator, so that you can find your
benefits under the current system and compare to the proposed bill.

Congress is on recess until after Labor Day. We will keep you informed
as to activity on the GPO/WEP issue once Congress returns.

"The Public Servant Retirement Protection Act" (H.R. 4391)

To EVERYONE of BOTH Parties?

On Fri., Oct. 8, Senator Kerry and President Bush will have a second debate. The topic this time will be domestic issues.

Social Security will be one of the topics.

Let's give them both something to talk about.

Call both campaign offices, national and state, tell them you want them to state their stand on the Repeal of the GPO/WEP...
(be ready to explain what the letters stand for!)
...Ask them to state their plan for the Offsets during the discussion of Social Security on Fri. night.

Kerry/Edwards National campaign office 202 - 712 -3000
(the Kerry/Edwards web site lists phone numbers for each state)

Bush/Cheney National Campaign office 703 - 647 - 2700
(I couldn't find a list of state phone numbers on the Bush/Cheney site)

Take the time to make these phone calls--they might help you and others get earned Social Security benefits!

Call before Friday.
Let anyone possible know the phone numbers. Maybe we can start the phone wires burning and get the message?.
to BOTH presidential candidates.

Sept. 27, 2004

NEA is urging Congress to vote on the ?Public Servant Retirement
Protection Act? (H.R. 4391) before leaving Washington for the campaign
trail. H.R. 4391 would replace the Windfall Elimination Provision with
a more equitable formula. NEA supports the legislation as a first step
to help members.

The bill now has 55 cosponsors. The newest include: Baca (D-CA);
Baldwin (D-WI); Cunningham (R-CA); Davis, Susan (D-CA); Davis, Tom
(R-VA).

Full-repeal sponsors, Representatives McKeon (R-CA) and Berman (D-CA),
are also cosponsors of this new WEP bill and are pressing for a vote

July 21, 2004

Stay Up-To-Date! The latest GPO/WEP news is posted on NEA*s Legislative Action Center at http://www.nea.org/lac/socsec. Click on *latest news.*

Congress Holds Hearing on Windfall Elimination Provision

Terry Hickman, President of the Nevada State Education Association, testified on behalf of NEA at a July 20 hearing before the House Subcommittee on Social Security in support of legislation to address the unfair Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP).

NEA supports the bipartisan Public Servant Retirement Protection Act (PSRPA - H.R. 4391/S.2455) as a first step toward repeal of both the WEP and the Government Pension Offset (GPO).

Mr. Hickman used his own story to illustrate the harsh impacts of the WEP. As a young teacher, Mr. Hickman chose to take a second job to help purchase a home and enable his wife to attend college. However, the Social Security he earned in his second job will be reduced dramatically by the WEP. He shared with the subcommittee the concerns he hears daily from Nevada educators subject to the WEP and GPO. He also expressed strong concerns about the impact of the GPO and WEP on teacher recruitment. Mr. Hickman urged Congress to take immediate action to pass the PSRPA, and to continue to work toward full repeal of both the GPO and the WEP. His full testimony is available at www.nea.org/lac/socsec/072004test.html.

Also testifying in support of the PSRPA were representatives from the Association of Texas Professional Educators, the Fraternal Order of Police, and the California Retired Teachers Association. All expressed support for the PSRPA as a first step toward full repeal.

A representative from the Social Security Administration raised concerns regarding the administrative difficulties and potential cost of determining earnings not covered by Social Security and in recalculating benefits of those already retired. In response to questions from the subcommittee on these issues, Mr. Hickman responded that one could not put a price on justice for dedicated public servants, and urged the subcommittee to move quickly to find solutions that would remove the unfair penalties for public service.

At the conclusion of the hearing, Chairman Clay Shaw (R-FL) promised to do all he could to secure passage of the PSRPA this year.

July 13, 2004

IN CONGRESS: Hearing Scheduled on WEP bill! The House Ways and Means Committee, Subcommittee on Social Security, will hold a hearing on the Public Servant Retirement Protection Act (H.R. 4391) on Tuesday, July 20. NEA has been invited to testify in support of the proposed legislation.

AT THE NEA REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY: The 2004 NEA Representative Assembly (RA), which concluded last week, included a number of offset-related activities:

Cadre Meeting: Approximately 40 members of NEA*s GPO/WEP cadre and the overseeing Social Security Offsets Task Force met in person and by phone on July 2 to share ideas and hear the latest news on the legislative front. Cadre members heard reports from around the country on successful efforts to mobilize members in both Social Security and non-Social Security states in support of repeal. Participants also discussed the legislative status of the full repeal legislation, as well as the partial WEP fix.
GPO/WEP Booth: Members of the cadre and other activists helped staff a GPO/WEP information booth from July 2-7. Convention attendees were able to pick up the latest NEA materials, talk with cadre members and staff about the fight to repeal the offsets, and sign up to participate in *tell your story* tapings (see below). By the end of the RA, NEA had handed out thousands of packets, brochures, and CD-ROMs, as well as flyers explaining the new WEP bill.
Story Tapings: On July 7, approximately 40 RA delegates participated in a *tell your story* taping, sharing their stories about the offsets and their pleas for repeal. NEA plans to compile the videotaped stories onto a CD-ROM for distribution to Congress, NEA members, and the media.
Messages to Congress: Delegates to the RA sent some 900 messages to Congress about the offsets. Messages focused both on the need for immediate passage of the partial WEP fix as well as for total repeal of both the GPO and the WEP.
New Business Item: The RA adopted a *New Business Item* calling on NEA to renew our commitment to full repeal of the GPO and the WEP. The NBI recognized the WEP fix as a first step, while calling for continued efforts toward the ultimate goal of full repeal.

DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM TO CALL FOR GPO/WEP REPEAL: The Platform for the Democratic National Convention, drafted this past weekend, will include language stating opposition to the GPO and WEP and calling for repeal of these unfair laws!

NEW ON THE WEB: By the end of this week, the NEA Web site (http://www.nea.org/lac/socsec) will feature a *template* and worksheet allowing individuals to estimate the impact of the WEP partial fix on their benefits.

The Social Security Administration has updated its Web site and added additional information on the GPO and WEP. Included on the site (http://www.ssa.gov/gpo-wep/) is a calculator to estimate the impact of the current WEP (not the proposed fix) on

June 22, 2004
We have 158 congressmen ( all democrats & all 10 MA reps) signed on to the discharge petition--we need 218 to pass the GPO/WEP discharge petition . The new Shaw sponsored bill PSRPA H.R. 4391 & S. 2455 do not give retiree's their full benefits & falls far short. We have been waiting, after several requests, for some final information from the Social Security Administration, in order to put out a worksheet/template that folks can use to figure their benefits under the new WEP bill.
Will let you know as soon as these worksheets become available
carole

Here is a review of the new WEP bill
As previously reported, Representatives Brady (R-TX), Shaw (R-FL), McKeon
(R-CA), Berman (D-CA), Michaud (D-ME) and Sam Johnson (R-TX) introduced a
bipartisan bill (the Public Servant Retirement Protection Act) to begin
addressing the problem of the Windfall Elimination Provision. Sen. Kay
Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) introduced the companion bill in the Senate. The House
bill is H.R. 4391, the Senate bill is S. 2455.

Why Does NEA Support the Brady/Hutchison Proposal?
NEA supports the new proposal as a FIRST STEP toward full repeal of both
the GPO and the WEP. Our letter to Congress and our discussions with Hill
staff have been explicit on this point.

NEA has been engaged in tough negotiations with Chairman Shaw to move
legislation addressing the WEP and GPO out of committee. Attempts to go
around the Chairman (such as with a discharge petition) have not succeeded
and may only result in a loss of bipartisan support. Although the
discharge petition currently has two-thirds of the signatures needed, no
Republicans have signed what they consider to be a partisan and political
maneuver opposed by their leadership. Even Republicans who would vote for
H.R. 594 on the floor will not sign the petition.

While the proposed bill does not fully address the problems with WEP or
deal with the GPO, it is a positive first step. In fact, the sponsors of
the full repeal legislation (Representatives McKeon and Berman) are also
original sponsors of this new proposal.

What Are the Next Steps?
Sponsors of the proposal have indicated they intend to hold a hearing and
a committee mark-up is possible. As a result, this proposal could pass
this year. As with any legislation, there will opportunity to comment and
propose amendments. NEA will be working with Congress to ensure that the
legislation meets the needs of NEA members. If committee hearings reveal
the bill's drawbacks outweigh its benefits, NEA will withdraw its support.
In addition, NEA will be monitoring and weighing in on how Congress will
pay the bill's estimated $7.7 billion cost (over ten years). Any proposal
that would pay for the changes through further enforcement of the offsets
will be unacceptable to NEA.

Clarification: How Would the Proposal Work?
As reported earlier, the Brady proposal would change the formula for
calculating Social Security benefits for individuals who have income both
from covered and non-covered employment.

NEA has received the following additional clarifications from Congress in
response to questions from NEA members.

*The bill contains a provision that says current retirees or those who have
already had some work outside of Social Security (whether or not they are
retired), will get the higher of their current benefit or the benefit as
calculated under the bill.

*The calculation would use the highest 35 years of earnings (or possibly a
lesser number of years if the person was disabled), which is what Social
Security uses in the normal benefit calculation.

*The calculation would use "indexed" monthly earnings (which inflates
earnings from long ago to reflect wage growth that has occurred since
then), just as SSA does in the normal benefit calculation. For info on how
earnings are indexed, see
http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/ProgData/retirebenefit1.html.

*The percent of the benefit paid is not determined using years in or out of
Social Security, but by using average indexed monthly earnings (again, we
are talking about earnings over the highest 35 years).

Sponsors are working on a template to help individuals figure out how the
new proposal will impact their benefits. This template will be posted on
the NEA Web site as soon as it becomes available.

Examples of how the proposal works are posted on the NEA Web site at
http://www.nea.org/lac/socsec/latestnews.html#newwep

May 2004
Clay Shaw finally comes to the negotiation table!!!!!!!

The Chairman comes to the Negotiating Table: The tenacity of our primary repeal sponsors, Representatives McKeon (R-CA) and Berman (D-CA), supported by the strong advocacy of NEA members and other activists, has brought Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Clay Shaw (R-FL) to the table where negotiations are underway.

A discharge petition - a procedural mechanism to bring a bill directly to the House floor - is circulating among House Democrats. Given the breakthrough in opening negotiations, Representatives McKeon and Berman believe a partisan discharge petition is not helpful at this time.

The committee process is the strongest vehicle to win repeal. NEA is committed to results and does not support the discharge petition.

SUMMER ASSIGNMENT
Pay an at-home visit to your Members of Congress. Members will also be in their home districts for extended weekends during this election year and for Memorial Day, Independence Day and August recesses. Pay a visit and tell your story.
HAVE AN ENJOYABLE SUMMER & WATCH FOR ANY UPDATES ON THIS CRUCIAL ISSUE. I WILL EMAIL THEM TO YOU AS QUICKLY AS I RECEIVE THEM
CAROLE

April 22, 2004
Stay Up-To-Date! The latest GPO/WEP news is posted on NEA’s Legislative Action Center at http://www.nea.org/lac/socsec. Click on the “latest news” link.

IN CONGRESS:
Cosponsors Continue to Grow

Thanks to the tireless efforts of NEA members and other activists during the congressional recess, the House version of the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 594) now has 296 bipartisan cosponsors. The latest additions are Ben Chandler (D-KY), Candice Miller (R-MI), Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Louise Slaughter (D-NY) and Ron Kind (D-WI).

Is your Member of Congress a cosponsor of the Social Security Fairness Act? Check the NEA website at http://www.nea.org/lac/socsec to find out. You can e-mail your Senators and Representatives directly from the site and urge them to support full repeal of the GPO and WEP.

Legislative Status

NEA staff met On April 21 with staff of Representative Shaw (R-FL), chair of the Social Security Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee. As previously reported, Chairman Shaw had earlier put forth several proposals to address the harsh impacts of the Social Security offsets. NEA had informed Chairman Shaw that the proposals were unsatisfactory, given the goal of eliminating the GPO and WEP.

Chairman Shaw’s staff did not present a new proposal at the April 21 meeting. However, as a result of the meeting, Chairman Shaw will meet shortly with Representatives McKeon (R-CA) and Berman (D-CA) - the primary sponsors of the repeal legislation - to work out a proposal. NEA has informed Chairman Shaw and his staff of the necessity to move quickly to put forward a proposal for NEA’ s review.

Given the ongoing negotiations, Representatives McKeon and Berman continue to believe a discharge petition is not necessary at this time. (Representative Turner (D-TX) has introduced a discharge petition in the House of Representatives - a procedural mechanism to bring a bill directly to the House floor for consideration. The petition currently has 142 signatures - all Democrats.)

We recognize that the pace of the negotiation process may be frustrating, especially to those who are losing benefits due to the unfair offsets. NEA remains confident in Representatives McKeon and Berman’s commitment to resolving the issue and addressing the unfair offsets. We firmly believe that the progress that has been made - including the continued presence of Chairman Shaw at the negotiating table - is due to their efforts as well as to the strong, effective advocacy of NEA members and other activists across the country.

We will keep you informed as to the progress of negotiations as well as to necessary any change in strategy.

ACTIVISTS AT WORK:
Texas Teachers Press Tom DeLay

NEA/TSTA local leaders from the greater Houston area gave U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) a surprise reception back home in Texas. Texas State Teachers Association (TSTA) and Texas Federation of Teachers (TFT) members - some 400 to 500 strong - marched together to a DeLay rally to express their displeasure the Congressman's failure to support repeal of the Social Security offsets.

DeLay accused the teacher unions of giving out false information and implied that teachers don't understand the issue. NEA GPO/WEP Cadre member Joyce-Roberta Miller Alper addressed DeLay and minced no words in laying out the facts:

* Teachers are informed.
* Teachers are discussing their own earned money lost through WEP and their spouse's earned money lost through the GPO.
* Mid-career changers faced with the loss of their own earned benefits and/or a spouse's earned benefits are dissuaded from entering the profession.
* And more.

News reporters - barred from the event by Delay - waited outside the closed doors to interview teachers as they exited.

Alaska Passes GPO/WEP Resolution

Thanks to the efforts of NEA-Alaska and NEA GPO/WEP Cadre members Jerry Patterson and Gayle Harbo, the Alaska Senate passed HJR 30, which urges the Alaska congressional delegation to support repeal of the GPO and WEP, by a vote of 18-0. The Alaska House had passed the resolution earlier by a vote of 37-0. As a result, 55 of Alaska’s 60 legislators (with 5 absences) have sent a positive message to Congress. Alaska activists have also educated both candidates for Alaska’s U.S. Senate race about the issue, and both have agreed to support repeal.

WHAT YOU CAN DO!

* Call or e-mail your Member of Congress. Thank Members who are already cosponsors and ask them to urge their leaders in Congress to make this legislation a priority. Urge Members who are not cosponsors to add their names to the bills. You can e-mail Members of Congress from NEA’s website at www.nea.org/lac. Just select “Social Security.” The website provides sample message points for e-mails, but we encourage adding personal stories for greater impact.
* Talk to the media. A sample letter to the editor is available on NEA’s website at www.nea.org/lac/socsec/editorltr.html.
* Spread the word. Fact sheets, talking points, and other materials are available on NEA’s website at www.nea.org/lac/socsec. Use this information to educate colleagues, friends, and family about the offsets.
* Talk to other affected individuals - firefighters, police, other government employees - and encourage them to join the fight.
* Share your information. Send stories about your local efforts on this issue to Carrie Lewis at clewis@nea.org.

March 18 NEA will be meeting with Representatives McKeon (R-CA) and Berman (D-CA) and Chairman Shaw (R-FL) the week of March 15 to talk about next steps
in moving GPO/WEP legislation.

As reported previously, Representatives McKeon and Berman, the primary
sponsors of our GPO/WEP legislation expressed NEA's frustration with the
lack of movement on GPO/WEP legislation to Clay Shaw, Chair of the
Social Security Subcommittee of the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Representatives McKeon and Berman reported that Chairman Shaw promised
to move GPO/WEP legislation out of committee this year.

Representative Turner (D-TX) has introduced a discharge petition in the
House of Representatives. (A discharge petition is a procedural
mechanism to bring a bill directly to the House floor for
consideration.) However, Representatives McKeon and Berman do not
believe a discharge petition is necessary at this time and are not
supporting it. Representatives McKeon and Berman have made movement of
GPO/WEP legislation a top priority and have been encouraging Chairman
Shaw to move legislation addressing the unfair Social Security offsets.
NEA supports the sponsors' strategy because we believe it offers the
best chance for action.

At the upcoming meeting with Chairman Shaw, NEA will carry a strong
message from our members urging immediate action on GPO/WEP legislation.

February 26, to March 11 For those of you sending your letters to Clay Shaw's subcomm on social security the hearing will be held on Feb 26th but you can submit written commentary up to Mar 11th to be included in the written record. I think we should get as many letters as possible in by Feb 26th to make a BIG impression
carole

February 20, 2004 Now that hearings are commencing we need to FLOOD Clay Shaw & his subcommittee with our letters expressing our concerns with GPO/WEP. Read the directions at the end so that your letters will be received. You must follow their instructions
carole

Congressman E. Clay Shaw, Jr. (R-FL), Chairman, Subcommittee on Social Security of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the Social Security Administration's Service Delivery Budget Plan. The hearing will take place on Thursday, February 26, 2004, in room B-318 of the Rayburn House Office Building, beginning at 10:00 a.m.

Oral testimony at this hearing will be from an invited Administration witness only. Any individual or organization may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee or for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.

BACKGROUND:

Each year, the Social Security Administration (SSA) updates a 5-year Service Delivery Budget Plan first submitted to the Office of Management and Budget with the agency's fiscal year 2004 request. Integrated with the 5-year Strategic Plan, the plan provides a comprehensive framework to address the challenges facing the agency and improve public service. Updates of the Service Delivery Budget Plan are based on current workload experience and available funding.

For fiscal year 2005, the President's budget requests $9 billion for the administrative expenses of the SSA, an increase of 6.6 percent from last year, and less than 2 percent of total outlays. In the Service Delivery Budget Plan, the Commissioner had requested $9.4 billion for the administrative expenses in fiscal year 2005. These funds will be used
to deliver $557 billion in retirement, disability, survivor, and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits.

The Service Delivery Budget Plan calls for the SSA's 64,000 employees nationwide to continue to provide a high level of service to Americans by paying benefits to more than 52 million people each month, processing almost 6 million claims for benefits, issuing 18 million new and replacement Social Security cards, posting 267 million earnings items to
workers' earnings records, handling 52 million phone calls, and issuing 136 million Social Security Statements that advise workers how much they have contributed to Social Security and estimate future benefits. These core workloads continue to grow each year and will increase significantly with the aging of the baby boom generation.

According to the agency's budget request, the President's budget provides adequate resources for the SSA to: reduce overall disability processing times, implement a new electronic disability process, reduce erroneous payments and collect related debt, continue to improve productivity, and expand online service options via the agency's web site.

In addition to keeping up with growing core workloads, implementing Ticket-to-Work programs, and combating Social Security number misuse, the agency faces several other major challenges including:

Implementing the Medicare Prescription Drug Law. The SSA will play a substantial role in implementing the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-173). Specifically, the agency will help identify low-income beneficiaries for enrollment in the new prescription drug benefit, make low-income subsidy determinations, calculate Part B premiums for high-income beneficiaries, and withhold premiums appropriate to beneficiaries' selected plans. To process this workload, the agency received $500 million in the Medicare prescription drug law and the President's budget requests an additional $100 million contingency reserve from the Medicare Trust Funds in the event costs exceed the amounts already provided.

Improving the Disability Insurance and SSI Disability Claims Process. While these programs continue to face tremendous backlogs, the Commissioner recently moved forward with two initiatives from the Service Delivery Budget Plan to improve accuracy and reduce processing times in the disability determination process. In January 2004, the SSA began rolling out a new electronic disability claims filing process, called AeDib. Converting from a paper to an electronic folder will eliminate delays caused by the need to locate, mail, and organize paper folders as disability claims move through the system. In September 2003, the Commissioner announced her management reforms to the
disability determination process. These reforms, predicated on a successful rollout of AeDib, include the establishment of "quick decision" units, and the restructuring of several steps in the disability determination process.

Improving Payment Accuracy. The Service Delivery Budget Plan reaffirms the SSA's commitment to protecting the integrity of the trust funds and the general fund by avoiding erroneous payments, combating fraud, and enhancing efficiency. The President's budget request supports this commitment by earmarking not less than $561 million for continuing disability reviews.

In announcing the hearing, Chairman Shaw stated, "For the Social Security Administration to fulfill their responsibilities to the American people as summarized in the Service Delivery Budget Plan, Congress must invest in the agency at the level requested by the President. Shortchanging this investment breaks our promise to workers who invested a portion of each hard-earned paycheck in exchange for income protection for themselves and their families in the event of retirement, disability, or death."

FOCUS OF THE HEARING:

The Subcommittee will review how the President's fiscal year 2005 budget request for the SSA supports SSA's Service Delivery Budget Plan.

DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:

Please Note: Due to the change in House mail policy, any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should send it electronically to <mailto:hearingclerks.waysandmeans@mail.house.gov>
hearingclerks.waysandmeans@mail.house.gov, along with a fax copy to
(202) 225-2610, by the close of business, Thursday, March 11, 2004.
Those filing written statements who wish to have their statements
distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing should
deliver their 200 copies to the Subcommittee on Social Security in room
B-316 Rayburn House Office Building, in an open and searchable package
48 hours before the hearing. The U.S. Capitol Police will refuse
sealed-packaged deliveries to all House Office Buildings. Please note
that in the immediate future, the Committee website will allow for
electronic submissions to be included in the printed record. Before
submitting your comments, check to see if this function is available.

FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:

1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted electronically to mailto:hearingclerks.waysandmeans@mail.house.gov
hearingclerks.waysandmeans@mail.house.gov, along with a fax copy to (202) 225-2610, in Word Perfect or MS Word format and MUST NOT exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.

2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

3. All statements must include a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers of each witness.

Note: All Committee advisories and news releases are available on the World Wide Web at http://waysandmeans.house.gov/ http://waysandmeans.house.gov.

Symbol to Show Committee Seeks to Assist Persons with Disabilities at
the Committee's facilities.
http://waysandmeans.house.gov/media/graphics/handica0.gif The Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event (four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to special accommodation needs in general (including availability of Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the Committee as noted above

TIME TO GET ACTIVE

We currently have 289 supporters for HR 594 SOCIAL SECURITY FAIRNESS ACT OF 2003 (146 still NOT on board)

We have the remainder of 2004 to get this bill passed. We have to increase the pressure!!

WHAT WE MUST DO!! ON A WEEKLY BASIS
1 call & email (both the district & DC ofiices) your congressperson & ask what they are doing to push this bill Passive support is simply not enough

2 ADD CLAY SHAW, BILL THOMAS, DENNIS HASTERT, TOM DELAY to your list & ask them to let HR 594 out of committee 1-800-839-5276 for ANY congressional office
www.nea.org you can email anyone in congress

3 contact anyone you know in florida to put pressure on Rep Clay Shaw Ft Lauderdale #22 He is chairman of the subcommittee on social security

EVERYONE HAS TO DO THEIR PART or we will all suffer the consequences & not receive our just social security payments
thanks
carole

February 12, 2004
Significant Movement on GPO/WEP Legislation!
The primary sponsors of our GPO/WEP legislation, Representatives McKeon (R-CA) and Berman (D-CA), have met with Rep. Clay Shaw (R-FL), Chair of the Social Security Subcommittee of the House Committee on Ways and Means, to express NEA's frustration with the lack of movement on GPO/WEP legislation. Representatives McKeon and Berman have reported that Chairman Shaw will move GPO/WEP legislation out of committee this year.

Cosponsors Continue to Grow
The House version of the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 594) now has 287 bipartisan cosponsors [Note: this number reflects the retirement of Rep. Combest (R-TX), who left Congress last year, and the departure of Rep. Fletcher (R-KY), now governor of Kentucky.]

The latest additions are:
Mike Simpson (R-ID)
Deborah Pryce (R-OH)
Melissa Hart (R-PA)

All members of the Massachusetts Congressional delegation are cosponsors of the bill.

The One-Day Rule
On February 11, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 743, the Social Security Protection Act. This otherwise non-controversial bill includes an NEA-opposed provision ("section 418") that prevents educators in Texas and Georgia from protecting their Social Security benefits from the Government Pension Offset by transferring to a Social Security covered district for as little as one day. The Senate passed its version of the bill at the end of 2003.

NEA strongly urged Congress to reject section 418. Instead, NEA argued that Congress should address the underlying issue of unfairness by repealing the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision.

NEA worked closely with Rep. Frost (D-TX), who fought to use procedural mechanisms to strip the offending section and replace it with provisions that would completely repeal the GPO and WEP. NEA and Rep. Frost urged House Members to vote against a "motion on the previous question." If the motion were defeated, Rep. Frost would have been permitted to offer an amendment to remove section 418 and add full repeal provisions.

Unfortunately, the House voted 227-196 in favor of the motion, meaning that no amendments would be permitted to the bill. One Democrat, Rep. Abercrombie (HI), voted in favor of the motion (therefore, against the NEA position). One Republican, Rep. Hall (TX), voted against the motion (for the NEA position). The complete roll call vote is available at http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2004/roll022.xml Members voting "no" voted in accordance with the NEA position.

Following the procedural vote, the House voted 402-19 to pass H.R. 743. The large number of votes in favor of the bill reflects the widespread support for the other non GPO related provisions. The roll call for this vote is available at
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2004/roll023.xml .

NEA worked very closely with members of the House and Senate to help ameliorate the effects of section 418. NEA won several victories, including:

Change in effective date to June 30, 2004. The original Senate bill had an early effective date that would have given educators no transitional time before losing the opportunity to transfer and avoid the GPO. NEA was successful in changing the effective date to June 30, 2004, thereby giving educators additional time to take advantage of the one day rule.

Counting prior service. The final bill includes a transitional provision that would allow employees retiring within five years after enactment of the bill to count prior service in a school district or other entity paying into both the state retirement system and Social Security toward the required 60 months. However, employees must still work at least the last month prior to retirement in a district paying into Social Security to qualify for the exemption.

# Elimination of requirements to subject more people to the offsets. The final bill does not include an NEA-opposed provision that would have allowed the IRS to notify the Social Security system about individuals who should be subject to the offsets but are not currently offset. Elimination of this provision was a significant victory, as it will protect individuals not currently offset from losing benefits and will prevent others from having to repay benefits they have already received. However, we will need to continue our fight on this issue, as President Bush is proposing the notification requirements again as part of his budget for the next fiscal year

# Limitation of "divided retirement" to Kentucky and Louisiana. The final bill allows only the states of Kentucky and Louisiana to conduct "divided retirement" referenda. (The original Senate bill allowed all states to operate a dividend retirement system). Under such a system, public employees will vote on whether to allow individuals to choose to enter the Social Security system, but all new employees will be required to participate in Social Security. NEA believes that allowing all states to operate a divided retirement system could be a first step by Congress toward mandatory Social Security coverage for all state and local employees, which NEA strongly opposes.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

# Call or email your member of Congress. Thank members who are already cosponsors and ask them to urge their leaders in Congress to make this legislation a priority. Urge members who are not cosponsors to add their names to the bills. You can email members of Congress from NEA's Web site at www.nea.org/lac. Just select "Social Security." The Web site provides sample message points for emails, but we encourage adding personal stories for greater impact.

# Talk to the media. A sample letter to the editor is available on NEA's Web site at www.nea.org/lac/socsec/editorltr.html.

# Spread the word. Fact sheets, talking points, and other materials are available on NEA's Web site at www.nea.org/lac/socsec. Use this information to educate colleagues, friends, and family about the offsets.

# Talk to other affected individuals--firefighters, police, other government employees-- and encourage them to join the fight.

# Share your information. Send stories about your local efforts on this issue to Carrie Lewis at clewis@nea.org.

Jan 29 Congress has returned with seven new cosponsors adding their names to H.R. 594, the Social Security Fairness Act. This brings our total to 283 cosponsors, including 2 non-voting Members. (Note that one cosponsor, Ernie Fletcher of Kentucky, has been removed from the list because he left the House to become Governor of his state).

The latest additions are:
John Lewis (D-GA)
Mark Kirk (R-IL)
Bill Young (R-FL)
Kendrick Meek (D-FL)
Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)
Anthony Weiner (D-NY)
Chaka Fattah (D-PA)

The Senate total remains at 29.

Complete lists of House and Senate cosponsors are available on the NEA
website at www.nea.org/lac/socsec.

Be ready for another active semester as we continue our fight for equality & fairness.
Carole

Dec 12 Thanks to Sen Susan Collins R-ME many senators including Diane Feinstein D-CA Barabara Mikulski D-MD & George Voinovich R-OH are forming a bipartisan coalition to push for the repeal of GPO/WEP . It's on their radar screens but we still need to write letters to heighten their awareness. Everyone of us should make a special effort to visit our rep while they are home from Washington on Christmas intercession just to talk with them, express your concerns with your loss of SS payments & try to determine their future course of action with our current legislation. A Christmas card would be a nice touch expressing your appreciation for all their efforts & help on the GPO/WEB issue to date
Committee hearings were held for the first time this year in both the House and Senate. The committees, however, failed to act. NEA is now poised to implement a strategy to force action in 2004. Thanks to the hard work of member activists, the McKeon-Berman repeal bill (H.R. 594) now has 277 cosponsors - some 60 percent of the House of Representatives. The Feinstein-Collins bill (S. 349), the Senate repeal bill, has 29 cosponsors, more than double the number of cosponsors last year. NEA will work with the cosponsors to move a discharge petition and force action to correct this penalty for public service.
Enjoy your winter break & build up your energy for more hard work to repeal GPO/WEB in the spring. We must & will fight until we are successful!!!
carole

AARP PRESENTLY DOES NOT SUPPORT THE SOCIAL SECURITY FAIRNESS ACT OF 2003. They say they have other priorities WE HAVE TO CHANGE THEIR PRIORITY LIST.!! We need their help & want them on our team. NEXT WEEK please send those same letters describing how your lives will be impacted by these unfair, discriminatory laws. Ask them for their help & support on this important issue for senior citizens & retirees. PLEASE keep your letters POSITVE. We want them as allies NOT adversaries!
ON HALLOWEEN Friday OCT 31st we are asking EVERYONE to please email AARP at http://www.aarp.org/ AND phone them at 1.800.424.3410 asking them to join our fight to preserve a descent standard of living for retirees & senior & help us repeal the social security offsets.
thanks
carole

Your Financial Security
Social Security
It's time for a reality check
There have been lots of questions raised about Social Security lately. And granted, it isn't perfect. We all know that. But it's not broke either. The fact is, with no changes, Social Security can pay 100% of promised benefits until the late 2030s, and over 70% after that. Of course, getting anything less than what you were promised wouldn't be okay today and won't be fair for boomers or future generations either. Which is why, in these times of budget surpluses, we need to work for changes that fill the gap so Social Security can continue to be part of the foundation upon which to build our retirement security.

So what needs to happen?
First and foremost, change. Social Security can be strengthened by a combination of modest adjustments to ensure that everyone who will be retired after the late 2030s can count on receiving an adequate guaranteed benefit that can't be eroded by inflation or depleted by a long life. This is what makes Social Security so uniquely valuable to all Americans.

Where we stand on Social Security's future

Change. What's the first step?
Of course, Social Security by itself isn't enough. That's why we all need to save for retirement. And that's why AARP supports creating individual accounts in addition to Social Security while being opposed to individual accounts that would reduce any of the guaranteed benefits already promised and provided by Social Security.

AARP firmly believes we must use the government budget surplus to continue to pay down the public debt. By paying off the federal debt, the government will be paying less interest, and will be in a stronger position to make sure Social Security is equipped for the boomers in their retirement years.

Right now, anyone making up to $80, 400 pays Social Security taxes on all of their income. Any amount over that is free of Social Security tax. AARP thinks this wage cap could be raised.

Improvements in Social Security's protections for women and low-income Americans should also be considered.

Modest changes enacted sooner rather than later would be adequate to keep Social Security strong for 75 years and would give everyone time to adjust their expectations for retirement.

But there are some ideas that just don't seem right
For younger Americans, the retirement age is already scheduled to increase from 65 to 67. It doesn't need to go any higher unless and until it can be shown that the change from 65 to 67 was okay.

AARP is especially opposed to steps that would mean Social Security no longer could keep up with the growing cost of living. Social Security should continue to provide automatic, annual benefit adjustments based on full cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) to help people keep up with inflation as they grow older.

Thanks to ALL OF YOU our National Lobby Day to support the Social Security Fairness Act of 2003 was a huge success. We have 10 new cosponsors & planted the seeds of change with many other legislators. At our breakfast with McKeon & Berman, the 2 cosponsors of HR 549, the MA delegation (Peggy Kane, Jackie Gorrie, Len Paolillo & myself) was applauded because MA already had the largest number of calls causing system overload. Our aching feet & fatigued bodies reminded us how long the halls of congress are, I only know that we walked & walked & walked & talked & talked & talked and everyone knows that we are serious about repealing GPO/WEP.
Thank you all & keep making those calls, sending letters & writing to the editors of our local newspapers. It ain't over yet! Thanks to the MCCC for sponsoring my trip.
Carole

May 2, 2003
Yesterday, the House of Representatives' Ways and Means Committee, Subcommittee on Social Security, held a hearing examining the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision and the issue of mandatory Social Security coverage. Donna New Haschke, President of the Texas State Teachers Association, testified on behalf of TSTA and NEA. Over 30 NEA Board members attended the hearing -- wearing t-shirts reading "Good Educators Never Retire... They Can't Afford To." The small hearing room was filled to capacity and was standing room only!
The hearing provided an excellent oppotunity to put a human face on the impact of the Social Security offsets. Witnesses painted poignant pictures of the impact on individuals and on the public service professions.
Representatives Buck McKeon (R-CA) and Howard Berman (D-CA) testified in support of their legislation to repeal both the GPO and WEP. Both made eloquent statements on the need for repeal, particularly in light of the severe teaching shortage in their home state of California. In addition, Representatives McKeon and Berman submitted for the hearing record over 500 letters and statements submitted by NEA members and other public employees.
Representatives Frank (D-MA) and Jefferson (D-LA) also testified in support of their respective bills to target relief from the offsets to those at the lowest income levels.
Representatives from the Social Security Administration and the General Accounting Office raised cautions about the cost of repeal and suggested that Congress not act on the offsets outside of overall Social Security reform. However, Democrats on the Subcommittee, including Ranking Member Robert Matsui (CA), Representative Cardin (MD), and Representative Pomeroy (ND) raised strong concerns about delaying action, particularly when public servants are facing poverty in retirement.
Donna New Haschke testified as part of panel including representatives from the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Association of Police Officers, the National Association of Retired Federal Employees, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, and the Coalition to Preserve Retirement Security. Donna spoke eloquently about the plight of educators in Texas and the problems in recruiting and retaining quality educators because of the offsets. She read excerpts from hand-written letters from NEA members demonstrating the devastating impact of the offsets, including an 86 year-old teacher who cannot afford to retire because she will lose her Social Security spousal benefits. The other members of the panel provided equally compelling testimony from police officers, postal workers, and other affected public servants.
The hearing was attended by a number of reporters and a feature story ran on CBS Evening News last night. We have already seen several newspaper articles from across the country reporting on the hearing.
Today, NEA lobbyist Al Campos met with staff from the offices of Representative McKeon and Berman to discuss follow up from the hearing. Both offices indicated a strong desire to push immediately for committee action on their repeal bill. They will be taking immediate steps to contact other Members of Congress to push for mark-up of their bill.
And, HOT OFF THE PRESSES: As a result of yesterday's hearing and lobbying by the NEA Board of Directors and activists across the country, we now have OVER 200 COSPONSORS on the McKeon/Berman bill. The latest additions:
Leonard Boswell (D-IA)
Alcee Hastings (D-FL)
Corrine Brown (D-FL)
Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
Julia Carson (D-IN)
Rush Holt (D-NJ)
William Pascrell (D-NJ)

News Flash!
Hearing on Social Security Offsets (GPO/WEP) IDEA Reauthorization on the House Floor
Social Security Offsets - May 1 Hearing!

On May 1, the House Social Security Subcommittee holds a hearing on the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). The GPO and WEP reduce Social Security payments to retirees from non-Social Security public employment plans. These reductions in Social Security payments potentially affect some 6 million Federal, State, and local government employees. NEA opposes the unfair offsets and will offer testimony advocating their full repeal.

Action Alert!
If your Representative sits on the Social Security Subcommittee, send a message urging support for full repeal of the GPO/WEP. Social Security Subcommittee members include:

Republicans: Shaw (FL), Chairman; Brady (TX); Collins (GA); Hayworth (AZ); Hulshof (MO); Johnson (TX); Lewis (KY); Ryan (WI)

Democrats: Matsui (CA), Ranking Minority Member; Becerra (CA); Cardin (MD); Jones (OH); Pomeroy (ND).

[Note: Representative Matsui is a cosponsor of the House repeal bill, H.R. 594 (McKeon (R-CA)-Berman (D-CA)].

If your Representative is not a subcommittee member, send a message asking that he or she urge the subcommittee to repeal the unfair offsets.

[Note: Cosponsors (http://www.nea.org/lac/socsec/cosponsorhr594.html) of the House repeal bill (H.R.594) merit thanks!] (http://www.nea.org/lac/socsec/coals.html)

February 13, 2003
Senator Feinstein introduced the Social Security Fairness Act of 2003 yesterday. The bill number is S.349. Initial cosponsors are Senators Collins (R-ME), Landrieu (D-LA), Snowe (R-ME), Kennedy (D-MA), Allen (R-VA), Johnson (D-SD), Dayton (D-MN), and Bunning (R-KY).
In addition, we have 7 new cosponsors on the House bill (HR594) -- Representatives Walsh (R-NY), Baca (D-CA), Lofgren (D-CA), Larsen (D-WA), Fletcher (R-KY), Emerson (R-MO), and Owens (D-NY). This brings the total to 103 cosponsors.
For your information, here is a complete list of current cosponsors (House and Senate separately) followed by a list of Members of Congress who were cosponsors last year who have yet to add their names this year.
These are the email addresses
house www.nea.org/lac/socsec/cosponsorhr594.html
senate www.nea.org/lac/socsec/cosponsors349.html
previous www.nea.org/lac/socsec/cosponsors.html
Thanks to everyone who has been working so hard to get cosponsors.

Kane, Paolillo serve as GPO/WEP activists, article in MTA Today
Higher ed crowd hears Social Security truths, article in MTA Today (Jan 2003)

Message from Carol Mathison, President, STCC PA, February 11, 2003
This message was sent to you today from Joe LeBlanc regarding reintroduction of a bill to totally repeal the Social Security Offsets. Additionally, I have gone to the NEA web site and attached the list of Cosponsors (as of this date) of the Social Security Fairness Act of 2003 (HR 594)(108th Congress)(House of Representatives). There are 97 names on this list - five more than noted in the NEA article. Please note that neither Senator Kennedy nor Senator Kerry are listed as cosponsors. Many Massachusetts congressmen who signed on last year are also missing from the current list. Please note that Congressman Richard Neal is already a cosponsor.

We need everyone to write to both Senator Kennedy and Senator Kerry urging them to cosponsor again this year.

We need everyone to write to Congressman Neal and thank him for his support. Go to the NEA web site: www.nea.org. Under Social Security Offsets you will find a quick link called "Send Congress A Message". Via your zip code you will be able to quickly send an email to our senators.

On Nov 20th, 2002 the STCC Professional association sponsored an informational meeting on social security benefits, government pensions and windfall elimation provision. Congressman Richard Neal was present to answer questions. MTA Retirement officials presented issues and Informational packets were available. Photos of event.