Press Releases

Washington, D.C. – Recently, 17-year-old Lubbock High School Senior Eliseo Jimenez walked more than 1,600 miles from Lubbock, Texas, to Washington, D.C. to advocate for Social Security reform and addressing the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). This imprecise formula has resulted in public service employees, such as police officers, firefighters, and public-school teachers, losing out on the Social Security benefits they have earned.

Eliseo arrived during the August legislative recess, but even though Members of Congress were back in their Congressional districts, Eliseo received a warm welcome to the United States Capitol from Rep. Arrington’s and other Texas offices. 

Upon his arrival Congressman Arrington said, “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 Jimenez is welcomed to Washington, D.C. by staff of Congressman Jodey Arrington and others.

Upon his arrival, Eliseo was welcomed into Rep. Arrington’s office, where he spoke to the Congressman about his journey from West Texas to the nation’s capital, what motivated him to take this journey, and discuss different questions and policy perspectives related to WEP. You can view their full conversation below:

Click HERE to view

Delivering for Seniors

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

Rep. Arrington agrees that the WEP is unfair to the nearly 150,000 Texans and 1.6 million Americans affected, which is why he introduced the Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act of 2023 (H.R.5342). This legislation would more fairly calculate Social Security benefits for retirees who have paid in and also receive a private-sector pension. 

Eliseo: “HR 82… what do you think about it? What’s your position on it?”

Rep. Arrington: “[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.

I have an obligation to do two things:

1. make sure seniors who paid into the system, get what they deserved and what they earned; but also,
2. protect taxpayers, future seniors, and future social security beneficiaries from accelerating the insolvency of Social Security by paying people more than they should get.

I applaud the effort of my colleagues who are just trying to solve it… I just think H. R. 82 isn't fine-tuned to make that distinction. 

Our legislation fixes it (WEP) and it also protects the solvency into the future and it's a steward of tax dollars.

We have to make sure Social Security is not just there for your grandmother and for my parents and for me, we have to make sure it's there for you and for your children.

And that's the balance that we're trying to strike… and we have to get it done. It's been way too long where it's just been hanging out there with this inequity where two million people are not getting what they deserve.”

Plans for the Future

Rep. Arrington and Eliseo discussed what comes next after such a tremendous journey, Eliseo’s plans for college, and their shared admiration for West Texas.

Breaking Bread

The meeting concluded after Rep. Arrington promised to take Eliseo out for breakfast to further discuss this policy issue and learn more about his journey and the people he met along the way.


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