I write to alert firefighters, teachers, state workers and other public employees about legislation that is presently hung up in the U.S. Senate and how it would help these workers and retirees.

The Social Security Fairness Act (S.597) would eliminate unfair penalties on public workers: the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset. These laws penalize Americans who dedicated their lives to public service by reducing or eliminating the Social Security benefits they paid into, including survivor benefits of folks whose deceased spouses worked in public service. These penalties are wrong.

We can all understand this affects current and future retirees, but what about the rest of us? Consider the affected people’s families, children and grandchildren who need financial resources to cover necessities like shelter, food and medical care. Many retirees have to turn to their families or public assistance programs to get by because of these offsets. This is all far from ideal and Mainers who chose to work part of their career in public service are losing at least some of their independence.

The Social Security offsets affect more of us than one might think. When disposable income is limited, it reduces spending at the local level, which hurts all of us. Please call Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer at 202-224-6542 and ask him to put S.597 to a vote. This bill needs to pass immediately so that President Biden can sign it into law.

David Vincent
Phillips