Lubbock Times

Recently, 17-year-old Lubbock High School Senior Eliseo Jimenez completed a cross-country walk from Lubbock, Texas, to Washington, D.C., covering more than 1,600 miles. His journey aimed to advocate for Social Security reform and address the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), which affects public service employees like police officers, firefighters, and public-school teachers by reducing their Social Security benefits.

Eliseo arrived during the August legislative recess but received a warm welcome at the United States Capitol from Rep. Jodey Arrington's office and other Texas offices.

Upon his arrival, Congressman Arrington remarked, "Everybody's proud of you, and I look forward to meeting you in person and having breakfast with you. God bless you, my friend. Safe travels."

Eliseo was welcomed into Rep. Arrington’s office where they discussed his journey from West Texas to the nation's capital, his motivations for undertaking this walk, and various policy perspectives related to WEP.

Eliseo is advocating for House passage of H.R. 82 – the Social Security Fairness Act of 2023 – which aims to repeal provisions that reduce Social Security benefits for individuals receiving other benefits such as a state or local government pension.

Rep. Arrington supports addressing the unfairness caused by WEP. He introduced the Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act of 2023 (H.R.5342) to more fairly calculate Social Security benefits for retirees who also receive a private-sector pension.

During their conversation, Eliseo asked Rep. Arrington about his position on H.R. 82. Rep. Arrington responded: "[H.R. 82] is an attempt to fix it and I applaud the people who've worked on it, but I don't think it's the right fix."

He elaborated on his dual obligation: "make sure seniors who paid into the system get what they deserved and what they earned; but also protect taxpayers...from accelerating the insolvency of Social Security by paying people more than they should get."

Rep. Arrington emphasized that their legislation aims to balance fairness with protecting Social Security's future solvency: "We have to make sure it's there for you and your children...and we have to get it done."

The discussion also covered Eliseo’s future plans after his journey and their shared admiration for West Texas.

The meeting concluded with Rep. Arrington promising to take Eliseo out for breakfast to further discuss policy issues and learn more about his experiences along the way.