By Charlotte Rene Woods
Over the weekend President Joe Biden signed the “Social Security Fairness Act” into law, legislation co-sponsored by former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a Virginia Democrat. The act aims to boost retirement benefits for some retirees that draw public pensions, such as former police officers and firefighters.
The law would achieve this by eliminating two, decades-old provisions that reduce benefits for people who also receive a pension. The two provisions had been made to limit federal benefits to higher-earning workers with pensions, but over time, a growing number of employees, such as postal workers, began to see their payments capped, Reuters reported.
Louisiana Republican U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, who co-sponsored the bill with Spanberger, argued on the House floor that it could benefit various public employees, “not people who are overpaid. They are not people who are underworked.”
Spanberger, who has co-sponsored the bill for much of her congressional tenure, said in a statement that “every Virginian who paid into Social Security should be able to count on their full earned benefits to support them in retirement.”
“This firm belief — and the stories of Virginians long impacted by this injustice — strengthened my resolve to bring Republicans and Democrats together on Capitol Hill, force a long-overdue vote on the U.S. House floor, and finally get this done.”
The bill had the backing of the International Association of Fire Fighters. Its president, Edward Kelly, noted how firefighters have struggled in retirement.
“The IAFF is proud to have partnered with Rep. Spanberger in leading the fight to repeal these penalties and return fire fighters’ dignified retirements,” he said. “We are excited to see our bill signed into law and finally end this chapter of history.”
The outgoing president’s signature on the legislation she pushed for comes just days after Spanberger left Congress and is seeking to become Virginia’s next governor. She’s the only formally-declared Democratic candidate for the time being (as U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Newport News, has yet to confirm rumors he might seek the office).
Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears stands to be the Republican nominee. Former Republican congressman Denver Riggleman, who has previously endorsed Spanberger, has not yet ruled out jumping into the race as an independent candidate.