Nick Lampson: “there are over 40,000 teachers across the State of Texas who could be adversely affected by this legislation. This bill…”

“there are over 40,000 teachers across the State of Texas who could be adversely affected by this legislation. This bill includes provisions which I consider to be catastrophic for Texas teachers and many other government employees. Provisions in the legislation would, in effect, reduce the amount of combined benefits that the Texas teachers could depend upon after retirement, even for many teachers who have paid into both Social Security and the Texas teacher retirement system. I realize that many in this body characterize section 418, the section that would extend the last-day exemption to 6 years, as an issue of fundamental fairness. With that, I cannot entirely disagree. Those who are able to take advantage of a loophole in the law represent a small minority of Americans who pay into Social Security and a government pension; and there are other ways in which we can fix that, and we do have legislation that is pending. I do not object to this legislation on the grounds that it seeks to create an equitable system of payment for all citizens. I object to a process whereby Members of the Texas delegation and other delegations are not able to offer amendments or debate this bill on the floor of the House. This legislation will have broad implementations for teachers in Texas and will most likely force a mass exodus of experienced teachers from our public schools.”