Full Text of HR0719 93rd General Assembly
HR0719 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, In 1977, Congress amended the Social Security Act | 3 |
| to provide that pensions earned in federal, state, or local | 4 |
| government employment not covered by social security be treated | 5 |
| as if they were social security benefits, specifically | 6 |
| requiring that if a person receives such a government pension, | 7 |
| the social security benefits payable to that person as a spouse | 8 |
| or surviving spouse be reduced by the amount of the government | 9 |
| pension, which provision is commonly known as the Government | 10 |
| Pension Offset; and
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| WHEREAS, Congress further amended the Social Security Act | 12 |
| in 1983, reducing the amount of the Government Pension Offset | 13 |
| to an amount equal to two-thirds of the amount of the | 14 |
| government pension, but simultaneously enacted what is | 15 |
| commonly known as the Windfall Elimination Provision, which | 16 |
| requires reductions in the primary social security benefit | 17 |
| earned by a person in employment covered by social security if | 18 |
| the person also receives a pension from a federal, state, or | 19 |
| local government not covered by social security; and | 20 |
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| WHEREAS, Government employees in 15 states, including | 22 |
| Illinois, earn pension benefits that are not covered by social | 23 |
| security; and
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| WHEREAS, The retirement security and economic well-being | 26 |
| of over 300,000 government retirees is degraded by the | 27 |
| Government Pension Offset, some of whose benefits are also | 28 |
| subject to reduction pursuant to the Windfall Elimination | 29 |
| Provision; and | 30 |
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| WHEREAS, Each provision has had unintentional | 32 |
| consequences, the Windfall Elimination Provision causes a | 33 |
| relatively larger reduction in benefits paid to workers with | 34 |
| low incomes, while the Government Pension Offset applies |
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HR0719 |
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| disproportionately to women, often dropping their income in | 2 |
| retirement below the poverty line, with the ironic effect of | 3 |
| making them eligible for more costly welfare benefits, such as | 4 |
| food stamps; and | 5 |
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| WHEREAS, Growing awareness of the inequities imposed by the | 7 |
| Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension | 8 |
| Offset threatens efforts to attract and retain persons into | 9 |
| public service in the affected states, particularly into | 10 |
| teaching. | 11 |
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| WHEREAS, There is pending before the 108th Session of | 13 |
| Congress the Social Security Fairness Act of 2003, H.R. 594 and | 14 |
| S.R. 349, which would repeal both the Government Pension Offset | 15 |
| and the Windfall Elimination Provision; and
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| WHEREAS, The repeal of these provisions would restore | 18 |
| fairness and equity to the most vulnerable federal, state, and | 19 |
| local government retirees and eliminate disincentives for | 20 |
| public service in the affected states; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 22 |
| NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 23 |
| the members of the House of Representatives hereby urge | 24 |
| Congress to amend the Social Security Act by repealing the | 25 |
| provisions, commonly known as the Government Pension Offset and | 26 |
| the Windfall Elimination Provision, that require reductions in | 27 |
| the amount of social security benefits paid to persons who also | 28 |
| receive pensions earned in federal, state, or local government | 29 |
| employment not covered by social security; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 31 |
| delivered to the Vice President of the United States as the | 32 |
| presiding officer of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of | 33 |
| Representatives, and each member of the Illinois Congressional | 34 |
| Delegation.
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