Nick Lampson: “Mr. Speaker, this is a complex issue and one that touches an awful lot of us in different kinds of ways. While I…”

“Mr. Speaker, this is a complex issue and one that touches an awful lot of us in different kinds of ways. While I certainly support the efforts that this committee has made in developing this bill, and I know how important the bill is, I am still going to vote against it and will oppose it and ask my colleagues to do so. There are some 50,000 teachers across the State of Texas who will indeed be adversely affected by this legislation. The bill includes provisions which I consider to be catastrophic for Texas teachers. Provisions in the legislation would, in effect, reduce the amount of combined benefits that Texas teachers could depend upon after retirement. There are many Texas teachers who have worked and paid into Social Security in other jobs. My wife and my daughter are two who have done just that. They have moved, and they have paid into the teacher retirement system now. Susan has paid into the Social Security system for many years in other jobs that she held before she decided to teach. Because of her involvement in the teacher retirement system and because she has paid into her pension fund, she will be adversely affected by the government pension offset. Those are benefits that I earned because of my payment into Social Security. Teachers do not make a great deal of money in the State of Texas, and in most other places as well; and it is hard to entice them to stay in the classroom.”