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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, Tens of millions of American workers and their |
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families count on Social Security to provide a reliable minimum |
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income in their retirement; and |
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WHEREAS, Almost 50 percent of married couples and 75 percent |
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of unmarried persons age 65 and older depend on Social Security for |
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more than half of their total retirement income, and nearly a |
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quarter of the married couples and almost half of the unmarried |
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persons receive 90 percent or more of their income from the program; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, The Government Pension Offset (GPO), enacted in |
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1977, and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), enacted in |
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1983, severely and unfairly penalize recipients of public pensions; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, The GPO effectively prohibits some retirees from |
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collecting both their own pension and full social security benefits |
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as a surviving spouse; an estimated 9 out of 10 public employees |
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affected by the GPO lose their entire spousal benefit, even though |
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their spouses paid social security taxes for many years; and |
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WHEREAS, The WEP, which affects benefits paid under Title II |
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of the Social Security Act, lowers Social Security benefits for |
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employees with public pensions, including teachers, law |
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enforcement officers, and firefighters, as well as for their |
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spouses and children, and can deprive a retiree of nearly $450 a |
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month in social security benefits duly earned by that individual; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, These provisions in practice have had devastating |
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consequences for employees who worked for many years as public |
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servants including teachers, police officers, firefighters, and |
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other public servants; almost two million employees and retirees |
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are affected by either the GPO or the WEP or both; and |
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WHEREAS, The GPO and WEP as applied to public employees cause |
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tens of thousands of Texas retirees to experience a diminished |
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quality of life or be forced to return to work to make up for the |
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effects of these provisions; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 86th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to |
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repeal the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination |
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Provision of the Social Security Act; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of |
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Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the |
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members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that |
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this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a |
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memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |