Rep. Doggett is a Democrat from Austin, Texas. He is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, of which the Social Security Subcommittee is a part.

“We call upon our members, throughout the country, to contact their respective Congressman now and urge them to sign on as a co-sponsor to House Resolution 987,” states Legislative Chairman Bill Hill. “Remember the Congress ends its current session at year’s end and starts all over again in “07.

“Therefore, Resolution 987 represents our last chance this year to get WEP/GPO repeal before the full Congress for a vote. Act now!”

By way of background, H.R. 147, originally sponsored by Republican Congressman “Buck” McKeon from California, repeals both the WEP and GPO laws and has 323 co-sponsors, which represents almost 75% of the entire House of Representatives. (435 congressmen). The entire Mass. delegation supports H.R. 147.

H.R. 147 is in the Social Security Subcommittee, which is chaired by Republican Congressman Jim McCrery of Shreveport, Louisiana. H.RES. 987 orders that H.R. 147 be discharged from the Subcommittee and be sent to the House floor for a vote.

“The Resolution needs 218 signers in order for the discharge to be successful, “continues Hill. “Obviously, this is much less than the 323 who originally signed onto the Repeal bill.

“However, please understand it’s traditionally much harder to get signers on a discharge petition, even those who signed onto the original bill that you’re trying to get discharged. You can’t assume that the magic number of 218, needed for the discharge, will easily be reached here. Therefore, please contact your congressman.”