As Congress enters into its fall session, the legislation aimed at altering the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) continues to gain momentum. At press-time, HR 664 (GPO), filed by Representative William Jefferson (D-LA), had gained a total of 27 co-sponsors. Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank’s bill, HR1073 (WEP), has 209 co-sponsors. HR 848, which was introduced by Representative Max Sandlin (D-TX) and eliminates the WEP entirely, has gained 120 co-sponsors.

Early this year, Swift agreed to support the Association’s position on the GPO/WEP and sent a letter to President George W. Bush advocating for the changes in the Social Security law. In addition, the Governor has instructed her Washington office to work closely with the Association in tracking the progress of the legislation as it moves through Congress.

Nearly all of the fifty states have offices in the nation’s capital, the majority of which are located close to Capitol Hill in what is known as the “Hall of States”. Anne Gavin is the director of the Office of Federal State Relations for Massachusetts. Together with Policy Analyst Eric Abel, Gavin has been promoting the issue on both Capitol Hill and to White House officials.

Association officials are confident that Swift’s support will help keep the issue on the White House’s watch list. White House Chief of Staff Andy Card is a Massachusetts native and a close political ally of Swift. In addition, Bush’s home state of Texas is equally impacted by the GPO and Windfall.

“Having Texas retirees share in our problem is a huge political advantage. Governor Swift has instructed her staff to reach out to the other impacted states and see what can be done to work together to find a common solution,” added Duhamel. “Old fashioned grassroots politics is what is needed here, which is something this Association has a long history of success with.”

Over the past year we have been reporting on the Association’s close working relationship with the National Association of Retired Federal Employees (NARFE). Headquartered in the Old Town neighborhood of Alexandria, Virginia, NARFE is less than 10 miles from downtown Washington, DC.

This close proximity to our nation’s capital has allowed NARFE to play a pivotal role in the fight to repeal or reform the GPO/WEP laws. Since our Association does not have an office in Washington, we have relied heavily on NARFE to be our eyes and ears on Capitol Hill.

“NARFE has helped to keep us up-to-date with new developments on Capitol Hill. They have also kept a close eye on which Congressmen had signed onto one of the pending GPO/WEP bills,” says Association General Counsel Bill Rehrey.

Recently, NARFE President Frank Atwater sent a letter to each member of the Presidential Commission on Social Security. As members are aware, this 15 member Commission was established by President Bush for the purpose of making recommendations to “reform” the Social Security system. In the letter, Atwater urges the Commission to include provision to reform the GPO/WEP in the final report issued to the President and Congress.

In addition the NARFE legislative team, led by Legislative Director Judy Park, maintains a strong presence on Capitol Hill, lobbying members of Congress. Legislative Representative Reesa Motley-McMurtry continues to be the lead NARFE point person on Social Security. McMurtry is backed-up by Legislative Aide Jill Crissman, who heads up the NARFE political action committee.

“Judy Park and her legislative team have been pounding the bricks at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue (White House and Capitol) in an attempt to build support for this issue. While progress may be slow, it certainly is not for lack of effort,” reports Duhamel. “Social Security is a complicated issue and changes to the system are approached with extreme caution.”

As we have reported in the past, a key figure in our efforts to reform the GPO/WEP is Florida Congressman Clay Shaw (R-Ft. Lauderdale). Shaw is the House chairman of the Subcommittee on Social Security. It is this Committee that both HR 664 and HR 1073 are currently pending before.

Congressman Shaw has publicly stated that he would like the Presidential Commission to file its report, prior to the Committee taking action on any pending Social Security bills. In the past, Shaw has been reluctant to release similar bills.

This time around our Association, along with NARFE and the other organizations in CARE (Coaltion to Assure Retirement Equity), are making an effort to appeal directly to Shaw. During the last election, Shaw faced heavy opposition in his South Florida district. So fierce was the battle, that he was reelected by a mere 180 votes. After coming so close to victory in 2000, not only in the Congressional election, but more importantly in the Presidential election, Democratic officials in Florida are preparing an all-out effort for victory in 2002.

However, members should not look to one particular political party as the savior on this issue. Democrats controlled both the House and Senate when the GPO and WEP were first created. So far this session, neither the Republican controlled House or Democrat controlled Senate has yet to act on or commit to this issue.

“The GPO and WEP are very much bipartisan issues...neither party has made a firm commitment to resolve the issue. We are ready, willing and able to work with and support whoever stands with our members,” explained Association President Ralph White. “We don’t shy away from politics, but this Association is not beholden to any particular party. Social Security is a very important issue to our members and we will be there for anyone who helps us correct this problem.”

As a result of the tragic events that took place on September 11, many domestic policy initiatives have been placed on hold. At this time, the focus of the President and the Congress must be on the national security of our country. Once this crisis has subsided, we expect attention to return to reforming Social Security.