Making history: Passing the Social Security Fairness Act

By Greg Landsman, Congressman (OH-1st District)Marie Hipple has spent her career putting others first. At 77-years-old, she spends her days teaching at Sinclair College in Mason and her nights tutoring teens. For most of her life, she’s always had a second job to make ends meet. Like millions of other public retirees, Marie has a pension and Social Security after working in both public service and the private sector. She did everything right and paid into the system, but because of two provisions in the current Social Security law, it’s not returning the favor. The Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset were signed into law in 1983, unfairly penalizing teachers, police officers, firefighters, letter carriers and others. Because these folks contributed to a public pension and Social Security, they aren’t getting all the benefits they rightfully earned. Marie is ready to move into the next chapter of her life, but after decades of service, she can’t afford to retire. More than 160,000 people across Ohio are facing familiar dilemma. The Social Security Fairness Act was first introduced in the 107th Congress, more than 20 years ago, and has been reintroduced every Congress since. The bill repeals these two...