Senate Passes $195 Billion Bill to Increase Social Security Benefits for Government Employees

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Senate on Dec. 21 passed a bipartisan bill that will enable government employees, their survivors, and disabled persons to receive more money from the Social Security program, which will cost up to $195 billion over 10 years. The Social Security Fairness Act, a bill sponsored by retiring Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.), will repeal the program’s “government pension offset”—a provision that reduces Social Security payments to beneficiaries who also receive monthly pensions from federal, state, or local governments. It will also repeal the “windfall elimination provision,” which reduces payments to beneficiaries when they receive some private pensions or disability payments. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that these repeals will cost $195.6 billion over a 10-year period until 2034, increasing the federal budget deficit by that amount without any corresponding revenue....