The WEP, or Windfall Elimination Provision, enacted by Congress back in 1983, was Congress’s answer to saving Social Security for future generations.

Its theory was simple. By taking a pension that is provided to government employees upon retirement through state retirement systems, a retiree was deemed to be “double dipping” if they also took the Social Security retirement that they earned from a second career.

These “double-dippers” are punished by having a portion of their monthly Social Security income withheld – forever.

It is a provision that is wholly unfair to former civil servents, and obviously so. It has been so obvious that over the ensuing 40 years since its passage, the WEP has had several efforts mounted for its repeal. All for naught as it has always been deemed a necessary evil that keeps our federal retirement system afloat.

My former congressman, Tom DeLay of TX CD-22, was in a position to, and was particularly skilled at, quashing any effort to reform this heinous affront that singles out 2 million Americans for monthly fleecings.

So, like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football, only to have Lucy snatch the ball from him at the last second, over and over again for the past 40 years. plans to repeal the WEP have all been snatched away at the last second.

This brings us to last Thursday. As announced by Rep. Abigail Spamberger (D VA-07), 206 bipartisan Members have signed a discharge petition to bring the Social Security Fairness Act, that would repeal the WEP, to the House floor, requiring a mere dozen more to get to 218 and a vote. And 100 of the bill’s co-sponsors have yet to sign it.

So why do I suspect that the latest effort to move WEP repeal to the House floor for an up or down vote will fail yet again?

Because I’ve seen this movie already.

Social Security, they tell me, will be insolvent by 2035 – even with the WEP still in place. One possible solution, they tell me, is to raise the cap that wage-earners must pay into the system. Those with higher-end jobs where the cap is attained every year (currently at $168,000) would have their FICA deductions continue for a little later in the year.

But that just will not do, will it? Those high end wage earners have a lot of influence, so rather than have the Social Security System propped up by the affluent, best to keep to the plan that requires 2 million former civil servants to pony up.

Civil servents, by their very nature, are used to sacrifice. They are used to getting lower pay than their private sector counterparts. So why not continue to rip them off?

So no. The Social Security Fairness Act will die – again – in committee.

I dare Congress to prove me wrong.