Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today as the Representative for tens of thousands of Virginians whose earned retirement benefits have been slashed by the windfall elimination provision and the government pension offset for far, far too long. I urge my colleagues, 330 of whom have cosponsored this legislation, to join us in passing the Social Security Fairness Act this evening and put an end to this theft. For generations, hardworking Americans have been promised that if they work hard, save, and contribute to their Social Security, they will be afforded a secure retirement with their earned benefits. The WEP and the GPO, two misguided provisions that were added to the Social Security Act in 1983, have denied Americans the retirement security they worked for and expected to receive. Today, the WEP steals benefits from more than 2 million retired Americans, more than 45,000 Virginians, who both paid into Social Security for long enough to earn these benefits and worked in the public sector during their careers. These are firefighters who worked a second job to make ends meet, police officers who began a second career after leaving the force, and teachers who took a summer job to cover the bills and buy school supplies. They are Federal employees who went on to work in the private sector. They are all receiving a fraction of their earned Social Security benefits.…”