President Biden Signs Social Security Fairness Act Into Law
For decades, Americans have seen lower Social Security checks if they fall into the circumstances under the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO).
Nearly 3 million public sector workers, including, firefighters, teachers, bus drivers, corrections officers and many more have had their benefits slashed because they collected pensions that weren't covered by Social Security.
The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) has roughly 320,000 members, which does not include hundreds of thousands of retirees who will now benefit from the Social Security change.
Millions of Americans will now see their Social Security benefits increase after President Joe Biden signed the Social Security Fairness Act into law on Sunday.
The bill, which abolishes the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO), passed both chambers of Congress with bipartisan support.
Biden signed the bill with dozens of union representatives in the room, including Ohio AFL-CIO President Tim Burga, Melissa Cropper, OFT President/Ohio AFL-CIO Secretary Treasuer and OAPSE/AFSCME President Lois Carson.
"On behalf of the roughly 170,000 Ohioans who will now receive their rightfully earned retirement benefits we thank President Biden and Sherrod Brown who has championed this cause in Congress for more than a decade and got the bill over the finish line for the president to sign it," said Burga. In his remarks before signing the bill, President Biden said that he believes in the dignity of work and that he is proud to sign a bill that puts those words into action.