Nearly two-thirds of the House has signed onto a bill that would boost Social Security for public-sector workers with government pensions who currently see limited retirement benefits.
The bill has gathered almost 290 co-sponsors, a threshold that could allow its backers to force a vote on the House floor and offer leverage as they work to get it through the chamber.
Under House rules, bills with at least 290 co-sponsors can be put on the “consensus calendar,” a process that allows rank-and-file members to force widely backed legislation to the floor if the committee of jurisdiction won’t take it up. It was referred to Ways and Means on Jan. 9, and the panel hasn’t scheduled a meeting to consider it.
