WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden expanded Social Security benefits to more than 2 million Americans, signing essentially bipartisan legislation that Congress approved slow last year.
Sunday’s ceremony was one of the last times Biden is expected to sign major bills as president, as Congress is currently controlled by Republicans and his term will end on Jan. 20, when President-elect Donald Trump will take the oath of office.
“By signing this bill, we are extending Social Security benefits to millions of teachers … and other public workers, as well as their spouses and survivors,” Biden said. “This represents an estimated average raise of $360 per month. It’s a large deal.”
He said the nearly 2.5 million people covered by the up-to-date law “will receive a lump sum payment of thousands of dollars to make up for the shortfall in benefits they should have received in 2024.”
House voted 327-75 pass the bill and the Senate in November voted 76-20 in December to send the bill to Biden.
New law Eliminates the provision for windfall elimination and government pension compensation which for decades reduced the amount some Americans received in Social Security.
Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who attended the signing ceremony at the White House, issued a written statement expressing “pleasure” that “these unfair provisions in our Social Security system have finally been repealed.”
“This is a victory for the thousands of teachers, first responders, public officials and countless supporters who have fought for years to right this injustice,” Collins wrote. “For too long, WEP and GPO have denied retirees and their spouses the Social Security benefits they earned through years of work and contributions to the system. This law ensures that public service will no longer come at the expense of accrued retirement benefits.”
Former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat who decided not to seek re-election to Congress in favor of running for governor of Virginia, wrote on social media that it was a matter of time before the two provisions were eliminated.
“Our retired police, firefighters, teachers and public sector workers have worked for DECADES to right this wrong,” wrote Spanberger, who co-sponsored the version of the bill passed by the House of Representatives in the last Congress.
The bankruptcy date is moving up
The benefit expansion is expected to cost $195.65 billion over the next 10 years and push back the program’s default date by about six months. According to nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
“If H.R. 82 were enacted, the (retirement and survivors insurance) trust fund balance would, under the CBO proposals, be depleted approximately six months earlier than it would be under current law,” CBO Director Phillip L. Swagel wrote in A letter to Iowa State Senator Chuck Grassley. “The agency estimates that under current law, the OASI trust fund balance will be depleted in fiscal year 2033.”
Other members of Congress attending the signing ceremony included Louisiana GOP Sens. Bill Cassidy, Nevada Democratic Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, Oregon Democratic Sens. Ron Wyden, Minnesota Democratic Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, Ohio Republican Mike Carey, Louisiana Democratic Party Representatives Troy Carter, Louisiana Republican Party Representatives Clay Higgins and Julia Letlow, Ohio Democratic Representatives Marcy Kaptur and Greg Landsman and Virginia Democratic Rep. Bobby Scott, according to a list provided by the White House.
Last updated: 12:30, January 6, 2025