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In 2012, the GPO reduced, by nearly two-thirds, the Social Security benefits of nearly 600,000 surviving spouses who also collect a government pension. Nine out of 10 public employees affected by the GPO lose their entire spousal benefit, even though their spouse paid Social Security taxes for years..I have proudly introduced this important legislation every single Congress since coming to the House of Representatives in 201Despite having over 100 bipartisan cosponsors each Congress, the bill has received little attention from House leadership. In September 2018, myself and my colleague, Representative Garret Graves offered this bill as an amendment to the Family Savings Act, which was part of Representative Kevin Brady's "Tax 2.0" package. Then in May of 2019, we offered the legislation as an amendment to H.R. 1994, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Act which passed the House 417-Unfortunately, both times, the amendment was defeated in the House Committee on Rules..Social Security coverage to persons who have not worked long enough under the system to draw benefits on their own account is of major significance in the debate to allow individuals to invest a portion of their Social Security taxes into private retirement accounts. As proposed, private Social Security retirement accounts would unlikely be able to provide the extent of coverage the current program now offers..You get them whenever you visit a doctor, or fill a prescription - Medicare's "explanation of benefits" forms. Often perplexing, many people never review them, let alone, try to figure them out. But you might be stunned if you do, especially if you discover drugs, medical equipment, or medical services that you never received were billed to Medicare..Mary Johnson a policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League told Stephen Ohlemacher of the Associated Press that she has serious concerns about the long-term impact of Tuesday's COLA announcement. She said, "This loss of anticipated retirement income compounds every year, causing people to spend through retirement savings far more quickly than planned. Over the course of a 25- or 30-year retirement, it reduces anticipated Social Security income by tens of thousands of dollars."."Social Security: What Would Happen If The Trust Funds Ran Out?" Christine Scott, Congressional Research Service, August 2, 201Debt Limit Analysis, Bipartisan Policy Center, July 2011..If signed into law, the Social Security Fairness Act would amend title II of the Social Security Act to repeal the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision..For progress updates or for more information about these and other bills that would strengthen Social Security and Medicare programs, visit the our website at, follow TSCL on Twitter or Facebook..The 12-member bi-partisan panel failed to compromise after a nearly three-month effort. Ultimately, the committee couldn't come to terms with a common ideology of taxation and spending by the November 23rd deadline. "Despite our inability to bridge the committee's significant differences, we end this process united in our belief that the nation's fiscal crisis must be addressed and that we cannot leave it for the next generation to solve," Senator Patty Murray and Representative Jeb Hensarling acknowledged in a joint written statement.