By: Neave H.C.R. No. 100       HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION          WHEREAS, Tens of millions of American workers and their   families count on Social Security to provide a reliable minimum   income in their retirement; and            WHEREAS, Almost 50 percent of married couples and 75 percent   of unmarried persons age 65 and older depend on Social Security for   more than half of their total retirement income, and nearly a   quarter of the married couples and almost half of the unmarried   persons receive 90 percent or more of their income from the program;   and          WHEREAS, The Government Pension Offset (GPO), enacted in   1977, and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), enacted in   1983, severely and unfairly penalize recipients of public pensions;   and          WHEREAS, The GPO effectively prohibits some retirees from   collecting both their own pension and full social security benefits   as a surviving spouse; an estimated 9 out of 10 public employees   affected by the GPO lose their entire spousal benefit, even though   their spouses paid social security taxes for many years; and          WHEREAS, The WEP, which affects benefits paid under Title II   of the Social Security Act, lowers Social Security benefits for   employees with public pensions, including teachers, law   enforcement officers, and firefighters, as well as for their   spouses and children, and can deprive a retiree of more than $425 a   month in social security benefits duly earned by that individual;   and          WHEREAS, These provisions in practice have had devastating   consequences for employees who worked for many years as public   servants including teachers, police officers, firefighters, and   other public servants; almost two million employees and retirees   are affected by either the GPO or the WEP or both; and          WHEREAS, The GPO and WEP as applied to public employees cause   tens of thousands of Texas retirees to experience a diminished   quality of life or be forced to return to work to make up for the   effects of these provisions; now, therefore, be it          RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas   hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to   repeal the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination   Provision of the Social Security Act; and, be it further          RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official   copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to   the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of   Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the   members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that   this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a   memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.