NEW ORLEANS — The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill that would expand Social Security for many public servants.
“Mr. Speaker, it’s been 40 years,” Rep. Garret Graves, R-Louisiana said. “This has been 40 years of treating people differently, discriminating against a certain set of workers.”
Graves gave an impassioned plea on the House floor before the vote, asking his colleagues to ditch a decades-old penalty for public employees like teachers, firefighters, police, and their spouses.
“Mr. Speaker, I have worked side by side with these folks,” he said. “They’re not people who are overpaid.”
The bill would remove two provisions in the Social Security law.
They reduce the benefits of someone who also receives a public pension from a job not covered by Social Security.
Former New Orleans District Fire Chief Donald Schultz worked a part-time job throughout his firefighting career and paid into the social security system.
“On the fire department you had to work two jobs at that time to make ends meet and I did it,” Schultz said. “At 62, I was supposed to get $850 (in Social Security. “Now at age 74, I clear $103. That’s all I get.”
Patricia Reynolds was a high school Social Studies teacher.
She also worked jobs subject to Social Security taxes.
“Getting the two checks makes it a better situation for me, but having my full Social Security would be more comfortable,” Reynolds said.
Graves did not seek re-election due to Congressional redistricting.
He said this is one bill he hoped to pass before leaving Capitol Hill.
“This is one of the ones that has really been bothering me, knowing how difficult it is that no one has been able to get it here in 40 years,” Graves said.
“This is one that we were really committed to do.”
According to Graves, they were able to get 330 out of 435 House members to support the measure.
The bill now heads to the Senate for more debate.
The Social Security legislation is estimated to impact about 2.8 million public employees nationwide, including 90,000 in Louisiana.
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