[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19935]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 19935]]

                       SOCIAL SECURITY INEQUITIES

  (Mr. REYES asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. REYES. Madam Speaker, the teachers in the State of Texas and in


many states do not pay Social Security taxes. Because they do not pay 
into Social Security, teachers do not receive Social Security benefits. 
Instead, these teachers receive a pension from their respective State.
  While retired teachers may be eligible to receive Social Security 
benefits as a result of previous jobs, these benefits are often greatly 
reduced. Further, some or all of a spouse's or widow's or widower's 
benefits may be offset if a retired teacher receives a pension that did 
not require payment of Social Security benefits.
  This is why I am a cosponsor of H.R. 1217, a bill that would address 
the problem of reduced Social Security benefits in the case of spouses 
and surviving spouses who are also receiving government pensions. These 
would include the pensions that teachers receive from the State of 
Texas and other States.
  H.R. 121 would modify the formula, and is currently pending in the 
Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security.
  Madam Speaker, there are 253 cosponsors of this important 
legislation, and I would request that this bill be moved out of 
committee and brought before the House for a vote.

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