87R8424 CLE-D     By: Lambert H.C.R. No. 39       CONCURRENT RESOLUTION          WHEREAS, The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) was   enacted by Congress in 1983 to help shore up the financing of the   Social Security program; and          WHEREAS, Intended to eliminate a "windfall" for certain   workers, the WEP reduces the Social Security benefits of a person   who also receives a pension from a government job not covered by   Social Security; and          WHEREAS, The WEP penalizes teachers, firefighters, police   officers, and other government employees who choose to serve their   communities in jobs not covered by Social Security; when these   public servants earn Social Security benefits from other work, they   should receive those benefits in full without being penalized   because of their public service; and          WHEREAS, This punitive provision affects a teacher who does   not earn Social Security benefits working in the public schools but   does earn them working part-time or during the summer; under the   WEP, the teacher's Social Security benefits are reduced by as much   as 40 percent even though the teacher paid into the Social Security   system just like other workers; likewise, the provision discourages   qualified, talented individuals in the private sector from choosing   public service if they have to sacrifice earned Social Security   benefits from their private sector work; and          WHEREAS, A very real inequity is created for police officers,   who often retire earlier than other government employees and begin   a second career that requires them to pay into the Social Security   system; police officers who had second careers face as much as a 40   percent cut to their Social Security benefits; and          WHEREAS, The WEP unfairly reduces the Social Security   benefits of many Texans who devoted much of their careers to public   service; now, therefore, be it          RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas   hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to   eliminate the Windfall Elimination Provision from the Social   Security program; 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.