Maine Republican Senator Susan Colins is praising a Social Security bill passed by the Senate Wednesday.

The bill repeals two policies that reduce Social Security benefits for public employees. It does away with the Windfall Elimination Provision, which prevents public employees with a pension from getting those benefits. It also eliminates the Government Pension Offset, which reduces payments for surviving spouses of recipients who also receive their own government pension.

Those provisions affect two million people across the country, including 20,000 in Maine. The bill passed Wednesday, known as the Social Security Fairness Act, would repeal both polices.

It’s aimed at helping teachers, law enforcement, firefighters, park rangers, and other public sector workers and their families to receive full Social Security benefits.

The bill passed the Senate by a margin of 73-27 Wednesday. It passed the House of Representatives last month on a 327-75 vote.

Collins authored the bill along with Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown.

She spoke in favor of the legislation Wednesday afternoon on the Senate floor.

“Social Security is the foundation of retirement income for most Americans. Yet many teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other public servants often see their earned Social Security benefits unfairly reduced by two provisions: the so-called Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset,” said Collins.

“According to the Social Security Administration, in November 2024, more than 2 million people, including more than 20,000 in Maine, had their Social Security benefits reduced by the WEP. Similarly, more than 650,000 people were affected by the GPO in November of 2024, including more than 6000 in Maine.”