{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/news/press-releases/van-hollen-votes-to-pass-bill-ensuring-full-social-security-benefits-for-public-employees", "Van Hollen Votes to Pass Bill Ensuring Full Social Security Benefits for Public Employees", "2024-12-21", "2024", "2024-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "MD", "Chris Van Hollen", "V000128", "www.vanhollen.senate.gov", "vanhollen", "https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) voted to pass the Social Security Fairness Act, bipartisan legislation he cosponsored to ensure public sector workers and their families can receive full Social Security benefits. This bill repeals the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) from the Social Security Act, both of which significantly reduced benefits for nearly 3 million Americans \u2013 including over 54,000 Marylanders \u2013 many of whom are federal employees, teachers, police officers, and state, county, and local government workers. Having previously passed the U.S. House of Representatives before passing the U.S. Senate today, the Social Security Fairness Act advances to President Biden\u2019s desk to be signed into law.\n\n\u201cFrom firefighters to teachers to food safety inspectors, we count on the services that public employees provide every day. Our passage of this bill is a critical step toward ensuring all public workers and their families can retire with dignity, receiving the full Social Security benefits that they have paid into \u2013 and earned \u2013 after years of hard work,\u201d said Senator Van Hollen.\n\nThe Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), enacted in 1983, reduced the Social Security benefits of workers who receive pensions from a federal, state, or local government for employment not covered by Social Security. The Government Pension Offset (GPO), enacted in 1977, reduced Social Security spousal benefits for spouses, widows, and widowers whose spouses receive pensions from a federal, state, or local government. Together, these provisions reduce Social Security benefits for nearly 3 million Americans \u2013 including many teachers and police officers.\n\nThe Social Security Fairness Act repeals both the WEP and GPO statutes, ensuring public sector workers and their families receive their full Social Security benefits.\n\nThis legislation has been endorsed by a diverse array of labor leaders, including the National Education Association, American Federation of Teachers, International Association of Firefighters, and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:07:19Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/news/press-releases/van-hollen-votes-to-pass-bill-ensuring-full-social-security-benefits-for-public-employees"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.8105909693986177, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}