GPO/WEP Update: OAPSE State Officers Lobby Congress

This week, the Social Security Subcommittee of the US House Ways and Means Committee had a hearing for H.R. 82 and OAPSE was there. OAPSE’s State Officers, Lois Carson (President), Mike Lang (Vice President), and Sheila Dawkins-Flinn (Secretary), were in attendance continuing to fight for the repeal of the unfair GPO and WEP provisions that devastate OAPSE members in retirement. As this process continues to move forward, OAPSE and AFSCME are making sure we have a presence and our voice is heard!

While Lois, Mike and Sheila were in Washington DC, they met with staff of Ohio Senators Sherrod Brown and JD Vance. Senator Brown is the sponsor of the companion Senate Bill (S. 597) to repeal GPO and WEP, and Senator Vance has recently become a co-sponsor. The OAPSE State Officers were able to thank the Senators for their work to repeal these provisions and also remind them just how unfair and harmful GPO and WEP are to Ohioans who work in the public sector.

“We have a lot of support in the House and Senate, but more is needed and educating Congress is key.” President Carson explained. “We don’t have the number of Senators we need to move the Bill along yet, so we need our allies, like Senator Brown and his co-sponsors, to explain the importance of repealing GPO and WEP to their fellow Senators around the country. We need OAPSE members to call our Ohio Senators and thank them for their support. We also need to stress how important it is for Senator Brown and Senator Vance to keep working and educating the Senate until we have the 60 votes we need!”

The US House Social Security Subcommittee plans on holding more hearings in the future and even holding a markup, which is the next step to bring repealing GPO and WEP to the floor of the US House.

For members who would like to reach out to Senator Brown and/or Senator Vance, their office numbers are below. We are closer than we’ve ever been to repealing GPO and WEP, so lets keep fighting!

Senator Brown phone numbers: (614) 469-2083 (Columbus) (216) 522-7272 (Cleveland) (202) 224-2315 (Washington DC)

Senator Vance phone numbers: (614) 369-4925 (Columbus) (216) 539-7877 (Cleveland) (202) 224-3353 (Washington DC)