September 25, 2006 #2A

(Note: Following is the current issue of OFFSET/WINDFALL newsletter with a call to action on H.RES 987. Please ask all members to make a contact to see if we can move H.R. 147 out onto the floor where it will surly pass.) Thomas has not updated their web page on sponsors, so we do not know yet if any Illinois Representatives are sponsors. Don’t assume anything, call today.)

The introduction of H. Res. 987 is a procedural maneuver to force a vote on the Social Security Fairness Act.

Since the House leadership refuses to act on H. Res. 987, Rep. Doggett has begun collecting signatures on a "discharge petition," which would remove H. Res. 987 from the jurisdiction of the Committee on Rules and bring it directly to the floor for consideration by the full House.

If the petition garners 218 signatures (a majority of the House), a motion to discharge the Committee on Rules from further consideration of H. Res. 987 is placed on the Discharge Calendar.

After seven legislative days on that calendar, H. Res. 987 can be considered on the next discharge day (the second or fourth Monday of a month). If H. Res. 987 receives a majority of votes, the House would then consider the Social Security Fairness Act.

The discharge petition has 34 co-sponsors as of September 22, 2006. We need everyone to call their Representative to ask no demand they sign on as a cosponsor.

Call the U.S. Capitol toll free 1-866-327-8670.

Then beg family and friends around the country to call their Representative and demand they sign on as a cosponsor to the H. Res. 987, Rep. Doggett’s "discharge petition".

Send this information to your local newspaper and TV stations. This is nation news that affects local senior citizens.

Rep. Doggett (TX) Asks for help

Below is a personal message from Rep. Doggett (TX) who introduced the Discharge Petition on behave of all public employees across the United States who are affected by the Offset/Windfall.

Congressman Doggett Asks Colleagues to Help Force a Vote on Social Security Fairness; Contact Your Member of Congress!

…Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin) urged his fellow members of the U.S. House to help him compel a prompt floor vote on the Social Security Fairness Act, H.R. 147. This bill would repeal two unfair pension benefit offsets affecting (public employees), but it has been bottled up in committee by the House leadership for (five) years. Congressman Doggett is asking House members to sign his discharge petition that would release the bill from committee and direct the leadership to schedule the bill for a vote. The discharge petition needs the signatures of 218 members of the House–a simple majority of the voting membership--to trigger the release of the bill from committee and set up a vote on the House floor.

Please help Congressman Doggett collect the necessary signatures as quickly as possible by contacting your own member of Congress and asking him or her to sign the petition right away…. You can make your request by calling your member of the House on …the toll-free line to the U.S. Capitol switchboard: 1-866-327-8670.

Meanwhile we all owe Congressman Doggett our thanks for his strong advocacy on behalf of all …public servants on this critical issue of Social Security fairness. Here is the letter that Congressman Doggett sent to every member of the U.S. House…:

"I urge you to join me on Wednesday in signing a discharge petition for H. Res. 987, which would allow floor consideration of H.R. 147, the Social Security Fairness Act. Although this bill has 323 bipartisan sponsors, the leadership has refused to allow the House to vote on it.

"As you are no doubt aware, more than a million retired teachers, police officers, fire fighters, and other public servants across the country have their Social Security checks reduced by the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). Millions of current and future public servants also face reduced retirement security if we do not act.

"Under the GPO, a widow or widower's spousal Social Security benefit is reduced or eliminated if s/he is eligible for a pension from a local, state, or federal government job that was not covered by Social Security. Similarly, the WEP reduces a worker's own Social Security benefits if that worker is also eligible for a federal, state, or local pension from a job that was not covered by Social Security.

"Those who receive private rather than state pensions and spouses who never contributed to Social Security do not receive these reductions. Yet today's teachers and first responders, those who nurture our children and protect us from danger, are punished upon retirement for a decision (not to participate in the Social Security system) that is often out of their hands--typically made by their employer, years before the employment relationship in question ever began.

"In 2003, instead of moving the GPO and WEP repeals, Congress acted to limit the retirement security of teachers, police officers, and firefighters by voting to end the "last-day rule," a method that some public employees had used to protect themselves from the injustice of the GPO. Teachers, police officers, and fire fighters have worked a lifetime--often at considerably lower pay than that available in the private sector--to serve their communities. But when it comes time to retire, they find that they will not receive the benefits they have rightfully earned. This is simply unfair.

"To correct this injustice, I urge you to join me in signing the H. Res. 987 discharge petition so that the House may finally consider the Social Security Fairness Act. Isn't it about time we gave teachers the respect that is their due? To truly honor their contributions and sacrifices, and not just pay them lip service, we must ensure that public servants do not have to make one more sacrifice--in the form of their retirement security."

We need everyone to call their Representative to ask no demand they sign on as a cosponsor.

Call the U.S. Capitol toll free 1-866-327-8670.

Then beg family and friends around the country to call their Representative and demand they sign on as a cosponsor to the H. Res. 987, Rep. Doggett’s "discharge petition".

Send this information to your local newspaper and TV stations. This is nation news that affects local senior citizens.