U.S. Senator Katie Britt Advocates for Fairness in Social Security 

Opposes $200B legislation expediting Social Security Trust Fund’s insolvency

WASHINGTON, D.C., December 21, 2024 – U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) released the following statement after voting against legislation that would expedite the insolvency of the Social Security Trust Fund while providing benefits to people based on work for which they didn’t pay into the Trust Fund.

“The WEP and GPO are flawed, but the ‘Social Security Fairness Act’ is far from fair, nor is it accurate or fiscally responsible. I voted against this roughly $200 billion bill because it would accelerate the insolvency of the Social Security Trust Fund and provide Social Security benefits that were not paid for by the beneficiaries. I was disappointed Senator Cruz’s amendment failed, which would have helped fix WEP in a fairer manner,” said Senator Britt. “It is crucial we meet our obligations to the hardworking families and retirees who have paid into Social Security for generations to come.”

Background:

The Social Security Fairness Act would repeal longstanding measures that ensure Social Security benefits are distributed based on an individual’s contribution into Social Security. Removing these measures—the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO)—would result in the Social Security Trust Fund becoming insolvent at least six months sooner than anticipated, because it would enable people who only paid into Social Security for part of their working time to reap equal benefits to those who paid in for their entire career. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) also projects this measure to cost almost $200 billion over the next 10 years at the expense of approximately 96% of retirees who spent their entire careers paying into Social Security.

Senator Britt voted in favor of an amendment offered by Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), which would have increased monthly payments for those affected by WEP by $100 to $150 every month while basing future retirees’ earnings off an individual’s earnings throughout their entire career with a proportionate benefit based on what they paid into Social Security. Senator Cruz’s amendment failed.

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