Legislative updates

Massachusetts legislative watch
Federal legislation

Please note…

For more information on Massachusetts bills: To learn about proposed legislation that could affect the MTRS and its members, you can obtain the text of any Senate Bill through the General Court’s website, www.mass.gov/legis/billsrch.htm, or the text of any House Bill at www.mass.gov/legis/hbillsrch.htm.

A warning about pending legislation: In simple terms, a bill is an idea that has been presented to the state Legislature for possible action. The process is complicated, and it does not always lead to enactment of the bill. The MTRS urges caution in making retirement plans based on pending legislation because bills:
     • must pass both houses and be signed by the Governor to become law,
     • may be amended,
     • may not pass,
     • may take years to pass, and
     • may never become law.
For information on how bills become law, please see Lawmaking in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts legislative watch

Federal legislation

H.R. 82: Repeal of Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)
As of January 28, 2008, 337 members of Congress have co-sponsored H.R. 82. This legislation would repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). Although 337 of the 435 members of Congress are in favor of the repeal, the bill’s financial impact on the federal budget—$60-$80 billion over the next 10 years—may prevent its passage.

The Subcommittee on Social Security of the Committee on Ways and Means held a hearing on January 16, 2008 regarding “Social Security Benefits for Economically Vulnerable Beneficiaries.” The committee received testimony from the National Education Association (NEA), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) concerning reforms to GPO and WEP. This hearing follows a similar Senate Finance subcommittee hearing chaired by Senator John Kerry last month. Although there is significant support in the House for repeal of the GPO and WEP, identifying a funding source to pay for the cost associated with outright repeal remains elusive.

Senator John Kerry chairs hearing on repeal of GPO and WEP
The Senate Finance Committee’s Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions and Family Policy held a hearing on the effects of the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provisions (WEP) on Tuesday, November 6th at 2:30 PM. The Subcommittee is chaired by Senator John Kerry (D-MA). Although hearings have been held in the past, this is the first hearing ever held in the Senate Committee that actually has the authority to propose a legislative remedy to these two arbitrary and harmful provisions of the Social Security law.

There were two invited panels testifying on the issue. The first panel was U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) who is one of the lead sponsors of S206 which would repeal the GPO and WEP. The second panel was comprised of: Margaret Kane, a retired Massachusetts educator and MTA member; Ms. Barbara Bovbjerg, representing the Government Accountability Office (GAO); Mr. Lawrence Thompson of the Urban Institute and Ms. Priya Sara Mathur, Elected Board Member of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CALPERS) and a member of Local 3993 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).

Senator Kerry spoke clearly and passionately about the unfairness of these provisions and rejected the notion—proposed by one panelist—that the solution to GPO and WEP repeal was to mandate all public employees into the Social Security system. Although not promising immediate action, Senator Kerry did suggest that some remedy might be considered within the context of a larger tax debate that will likely occur in the Senate after the first of the year.