H.R. 82, passed the Senate 76 to 20, with four senators not voting. Those four included Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) because, confirmation hearings. Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), because hey, inauguration preparations. The other two were Joe Manchin (D-WV) because he has ended his Senate career and does not really care at this point, and surprisingly, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) who has no good excuse, especially since he needs to, maybe, start earning his keep.
The bill had previously cleared the House in November, 327 to 75, with one congressperson voting present. The WEP reduced Social Security benefits for individuals who receive other retirement benefits through state or local government pension programs: like teachers, firefighters, first responders, police officers, and postal workers. The GPO eliminated the government pension offset for surviving spouses and their children who inherited their deceased spouses said government pensions. In the past, they would have had the full Social Security pension amount. I know because my father was a postal worker when he died, and my mother and my siblings received his pension benefits in full. When the GPO was signed into law in 1977, those benefits were reduced by two-thirds.
Finally, the bill eliminated the reduction of Social Security benefits for individuals who may have spent part of their employment life working for an employer who did not pay into the Social Security fund (government, state, etc.) The changes will be retroactive to December 2023.