The Senate begins final pushes to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people

The Senate begins final pushes to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is moving toward a vote on a bill that would provide full Social Security benefits to millions of people, setting up possible passage in the final days of the lame-duck Congress.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Thursday he would begin the process for a final vote on the bill known as the Social Security Fairness Act, which would eliminate policies that currently limit Social Security payments for about $2.8 Limit millions of people.

Schumer said the bill would “ensure that Americans are not wrongly denied their well-deserved Social Security benefits simply because they eventually chose a career in public service.”

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The legislation passed the House in a bipartisan vote, and a Senate version of the bill introduced last year had 62 co-sponsors. But the bill still needs the support of at least 60 senators to pass Congress. Then it would go to President Biden.

At least one Republican senator who signed a similar bill last year, Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana, said he was still considering whether to vote for the bill next week.

“Nothing ever gets paid, so I don’t know if it’s another debt,” he said.

After decades of work, the bill would repeal two federal policies — the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset — that broadly cut payments to two groups of Social Security recipients: people who also receive a pension from a job not covered by Social Security It covers security and surviving spouses of Social Security recipients who receive their own state pension.

The bill would further increase the burden on Social Security Trust funds, which were already estimated to be unable to pay out full benefits beginning in 2035. It would increase federal deficits by an estimated $195 billion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

The bipartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget also estimates that the policy, if passed, would shorten the Social Security program’s insolvency date by about half a year and increase lifetime Social Security benefits for a typical retiring dual-income couple by an additional $25,000. Dollar would cut in 2033.

Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 Republican at the top, acknowledged that the policy has strong bipartisan support, but said some Republicans also want to see it “fixed as part of a broader Social Security reform effort.”

Conservatives have spoken out against the bill and decried its costs.

“Even for something that people think is a good cause, it shows a lack of concern for the future of the country, so I think it’s a big mistake,” said Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky.

Still, other Republicans have urged Schumer to vote on it.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said last month that current federal restrictions “punish families across the country who have worked in public service for part of their careers with a separate pension.” We’re talking police officers, firefighters, teachers and other public employees who are penalized for serving their communities.”

He predicted that the law would be passed.

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