Category Archives for Congress

House Select Committee on Aging has new life

Published in RINewsToday on July 29, 2024

Just a month ago, the Washington, DC-based Leadership Council on Aging Organizations (LCAO), a coalition of 68 national nonprofit groups committed to representing seniors in Congressional policy making, formally endorsed Cong. Seth Magaziner’s (RI-2) H. Res. 1029, reestablishing the House Select Committee on Aging (HSCoA).  

The freshman congressman picked up the baton from former Cong. David Cicilline, who resigned his seat and now heads the Rhode Island Foundation.  The former Congressman had introduced a resolution to bring back the HSCoA during the 114th-117th Congresses.

At press time, Magaziner’s resolution, introduced on Feb. 23, 2024 (with 26 Democratic co-sponsors and no Republicans on board), has been referred to the House Committee on Rules for mark-up, and if passed, will be considered by the full House.

LCAO endorsed Cong. Magaziner’s 213-word resolution in a June 25th letter. H Res. 1029 amends the Rules of the House to establish a HSCoA.  Although the panel will not have legislative jurisdiction, it’s authorized to conduct a continuing comprehensive study and review of a myriad of aging issues, from income maintenance, poverty, housing health (including medical and research, welfare, employment, education, recreation, to long-term care.

If passed, the Magaziner’s resolution would authorize the HSCoA to study the use of all practical means and methods of encouraging the development of public and private programs and policies which will assist seniors in taking a full part in national life and which will encourage the utilization of knowledge, skills, special aptitudes, and abilities of seniors to contribute to a better quality of life for all Americans.

Finally, H. Res. 1029 would also allow the HSCoA to develop policies that would encourage the coordination of both governmental and private programs designed to deal with problems of aging and to review any recommendations made by the President or by the White House Conference on Aging in relation to programs or policies affecting seniors.

LCAO Calls for Passage of H. Res. 1029

“As we all age together as a society, we see the need to find solutions as demand grows for paid and family care workers, along with finding opportunities to address retirement security. Addressing these demands in a fiscally responsible, bipartisan manner deserves greater attention, understanding and public engagement, says LCAO Chair Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance of Retired Americans, in a June 25 letter written to Cong. Magaziner endorsing H. Res. 1029.

In the endorsement letter, Fiesta explained that while authorizing standing House Committees “perform exemplary oversight and legislative functions over matters within their respective jurisdictions, the HSCoA would have an opportunity to more fully explore a range of issues and innovations that cross jurisdictional lines, while holding field hearings, convening remote hearings, engaging communities, and promoting understanding and dialogue that would contribute to the solutions that present themselves as the number of older people in our nation increases.”

Looking back, LCAO’s letter noted that HSCoA, under Chairman Claude Pepper, closely worked with standing committees, in a team effort and a bipartisan manner, holding many joint hearings with them and helping to pass the end of mandatory retirement, 359-2 in the House and 89-19 in the Senate.”

Additionally, HSCoA “worked to protect Social Security, expose nursing home abuses and set transparency standards, expand home health care benefits as a way older people could often delay or avoid the need of entering into long-term care facilities, and so much more,” said Fiesta, noting that The Ways and Means, Education and Workforce, Energy and Commerce, and Space, Science and Technology were other committees that benefited from the partnership,” Fiesta said.

Finally, Fiesta stresses that HSCoA would also “complement the strong bipartisan work of the Senate Special Committee on Aging which has effectively promoted member understanding on a range of issues, including the concerns of grandparents raising grandchildren, elder abuse and fraud, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on older Americans and their families, the importance of financial literacy in planning for retirement, and the costs associated with isolation and loneliness.”

Magaziner talks turkey about H. Res. 1029

“Older Americans have worked hard their entire lives, and they deserve to retire and age with dignity,” says Magaziner, noting he became the primary sponsor of H. Res. 1029 because it “ensures that seniors in Rhode Island and across the country have their voices heard, needs met, and can enjoy their golden years with peace of mind.”

Magaziner was recently on parental leave and was unable to meet with former HSCoA staffers and aging advocates. He notes, however, that “my staff was able to listen to and gain valuable insight into the successes of the Committee and its role in fighting for America’s aging population.”  

According to Magaziner, his staff is working hard to tell other offices about the benefits of the proposed Committee and will continue to look for ways to raise the profile of this resolution to encourage other Members to become co-sponsors. “I am proud that this resolution received the recent endorsement from the LCAO, along with other prominent organizations including the National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare, AARP, Alliance for Retired Americans, Social Security Works and Meals on Wheels America,” he said, stressing that the support of advocates is important to encouraging House lawmakers to cosponsor the resolution. 

Magaziner stresses that getting bipartisan support for H. Res. 1029 is important to him.  “I’m ready to work with anyone, from either party, to deliver results for Rhode Island—and that includes finding common ground on important legislation like H. Res. 1029,” he says.  “There’s still room for bipartisanship, and ensuring we address issues for seniors across the country should be an area where we can all agree,” he adds, calling on his Republican colleagues to work together with Democrats to move our country forward.

If not this year, push for next Congressional session

But with 98 days left before the upcoming presidential election, can Magaziner push H. Res. 1029 across the goal line?

With the House beginning its 6-week August recess, Bob Blancato, former Staff Director of the, Subcommittee on Human Services, urges voters to ask their lawmakers to support H. Res. 1029 if they are not a cosponsor. “Find them at public events and raise [the importance of their support], he suggests.  

Blancato sees the importance of Cong. Magaziner sending another “Dear Colleague” letter to House lawmakers in soliciting cosponsors. “They should also target some of the House Caucuses, such as the bipartisan Congressional Woman’s Caucus and the Assisting Caregivers Caucus,”  he recommends.

According to Bob Weiner, former Chief of Staff, House Select Committee on Aging under Chairman Claude Pepper (D-FL), the timing to push this resolution is after the upcoming presidential election.  “Most important will be to hit the ground RUNNING at the start of the next Congress, with the agreement by Cong. Magaziner to introduce the first new session day, and give him and the allied groups and supporters the immediate opportunity to build cosponsors at that time,” he says, stressing that the count for the next Congress begins in the next Congress, which could well be a different party majority. “This is a terrific resolution which can have significant impact helping older Americans to protect and build their health and livelihoods, he adds.

Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM) and a long-time member of the LCAO, agrees with Weiner’s assessment.  “Historically, the House Permanent Select Committee on Aging served as a unique venue that allowed open, bipartisan debate from various ideological and philosophical perspectives to promote consensus that, in turn, helped facilitate the critical work of the standing committees.  We believe that issues affecting seniors would be best advanced by the re-establishment of such a Committee in the House. Reestablishing a Select Committee on Aging in the House would also complement the strong bipartisan work of its counterpart in the Senate.”

“As was emphasized in the LCAO endorsement letter, we need Cong. Magaziner to tactfully work for bipartisan support of his House Resolution — a commitment he made to the voters in a 2022 campaign press conference that I attended,” says Vin Marzullo, former federal civil rights & social justice administrator and a Board member of Senior Agenda Coalition.

“Additionally, since the Magaziner resolution has less than half of the cosponsors obtained by former Cong. Cicilline, both the Congressman and his staff must step up their outreach efforts to Congressional members on the floor, related House Committee Chairs, House Caucuses, & the House Minority Leader,” he said, noting that grassroots efforts led to the support of Cong. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Co-Chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus”, stated Marzullo, also a former AARP RI President.  

For details about the HSCoA, go to https://rinewstoday.com/congressman-magaziner-takes-baton-on-bringing-back-house-aging-committee-herb-weiss/.

Next November, Let Seniors Vote on Social Security Fixes  

Published in RINewsToday on May 13, 2024

By Herb Weiss

The recently released 2024 Social Security and Medicare Trustees report shows an improved outlook for these programs. This year’s projections show that Social Security can pay its benefits and cover administrative costs now until 2035, one year longer than projected in last year’s report. But, after that, it can only cover 83 percent of benefits, even if Congress fails to take no action to fix the program to ensure its financial viability.  

Medicare’s fiscal health improves even more, says the Medicare Trustees Report. It projects that the program’s Part A (Hospital) fund will be able to pay 100% of scheduled benefits until 2036 — a full five years later than estimated by the trustees last year. 

Under the Social Security Act of 1935, the Board of Trustees is required to submit the annual reports on the current and projected financial status of the trust funds to Congress on April 1 each year. 

It’s Time for Congress to Protect Social Security

“This year’s report is a measure of good news,” says Martin O’Malley, Commissioner of Social Security, in a statement recognizing the impact of “strong economic that have yielded impressive wage growth, historic job creation and a steady, low unemployment rate.”  

“So long as Americans across our country continue to work, Social Security can — and will — continue to pay benefits,” says O’Malley, calling on Congress to take action to ensure the financial viability of the Trust Fund “into the foreseeable future just as it did I the past on a bipartisan basis.”  

“I will continue to urge Congress to protect and support Social Security and restore the growth of the funds. Whether Congress chooses to eliminate the shortfall by increasing revenue, reducing benefits, or some combination, is a matter of political preference, not affordability,” observes O’Malley, noting that there are several legislative proposals that address the shortfall without benefit cuts — it should debate and vote on these and any other proposals. 

Social Security Advocacy Groups. Key GOP Lawmaker Issue Statements 

With the May 6 release of the 2024 Social Security and Medicare Trustees report, statements were generated by Social Security advocacy groups and Congressional lawmakers to give their take on the projections. 

Even with the report pushing back the expected depletion dates for Social Security and Medicare, Max Richtman, President & CEO, National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare (NCPSSM) called for Congress to immediately act to strengthen the Social Security program for the 67 million beneficiaries. “We cannot afford to wait to take action until the trust fund is mere months from insolvency, as Congress did in 1983.  The sooner Congress acts, the less painful the remedies will be, says Richtman.

In responding to comments that Social Security is going ‘bankrupt, Richtman says: “Revenue always will flow into Social Security from workers’ payroll contributions, so the program will never be ‘broke.’ But no one wants seniors to suffer an automatic 17% benefit cut in 2035, so Congress must act deliberately, but not recklessly.  A bad deal driven by cuts to earned benefits could be worse than no deal at all.” 

Richtman warns that seniors will take a devastating financial hit if Congress is forced to make cuts in 2035. “Average Social Security benefits are already very modest — about $23,000 per year, which is only $3,000 higher than the federal poverty line for a household of two,” he says, noting that wealthier beneficiaries can afford to contribute more to the program without hurting them financially. 

“Social Security has an accumulated surplus of $2.79 trillion. It is 90 percent funded for the next quarter century, 83 percent for the next half century, and 81 percent for the next three quarters of a century. At the end of the century, in 2100,” says Nancy Altman, President of Social Security Works, noting that the program is projected to cost just 6.1 percent of gross domestic product (“GDP”). 

Like the SSA Commissioner and NCPSSM’s Richtman, and Altman urges Congress to act sooner rather than later to ensure that Social Security can pay full benefits for generations to come, along with expanding Social Security’s modest benefits. “That will restore one of the most important benefits Social Security is intended to provide to the American people — a sense of security,” she says.

As to Medicare, the released report notes the life expectancy for Medicare part A Trust Fund is extended another five years. 

“It’s great news that the Part A trust fund has an additional FIVE years before it becomes depleted, partly because of the unexpected strength of the U.S. economy.  But current and future seniors expect action to keep the trust fund solvent for the long-term,” said Richtman.

“We support President Biden’s plan to strengthen Medicare’s finances, as laid out in his FY 2024 and 2025 budgets,” says Richtman, noting that the president’s plan would bring more revenue into the program, rather than cutting benefits as some Republicans have proposed.  “Building on the prescription drug pricing reforms in the Inflation Reduction Act, the President’s budget proposal would lower Medicare’s costs — and some of those savings would be used to extend the solvency of the Part A trust fund,” he says.

According to Richtman, beyond trust fund solvency, the Trustees reported that the standard Medicare Part B premium will rise next year to $185 per month – a $20 or 6 percent monthly increase. “Any premium increase is a burden to seniors living on fixed incomes, who too often must choose between paying monthly bills or filling prescriptions and getting proper health care.  Seniors need relief from rising premiums and skyrocketing out-of-pocket health care costs. Fortunately, the Biden administration is taking steps to reduce those costs,” said Richtman.

Key GOP Chair  Responds to Trustee Reports

Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX), of the House Budget Committee, quickly released a statement, responding to the release of the 2024 Social Security and Medicare Trustees report.

According to Arrington, the House Budget Committee’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Budget, while not making any changes to Social Security or Medicare benefits, provides a way to prod Congress and the President to address the fiscal insolvency of these programs. The Budget Committee has also reported the Fiscal Commission Act, which will also give Congress the tools it needs to save and strengthen these vital programs,” he noted.

“We have the highest levels of indebtedness in our nation’s history, an inflationary and anemic economy, and the two most important senior safety net programs facing insolvency, says Arrington, noting that this year’s trustees report “only reiterates why we need a bipartisan Fiscal Commission to address the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds and the $140 trillion unfunded liability on America’s balance sheet.”

“Republicans and Democrats have both proven they will not fix Social Security and Medicare on their own. We must put our seniors and country first and work together to find a solution,” he charges. “Doing nothing is condemning our seniors to automatic benefit cuts and our country to a future debt crisis,” he says.

Fixing Social Security…A Difference in Perspective.

Both NCPSSM and Social Security Works strongly endorse financially shoring up Social Security by bringing in more money into the trust fund by increasing the payroll wage-cap to require higher-income beneficiaries to pay a higher Social Security payroll tax.  Both Social Security advocacy groups endorse Rep. John Larson’s (D-CT) Social Security 2100 Act, a legislative proposal would maintain the current payroll wage cap (currently set at $168,600), but subjecting wages $400,000 and above to payroll taxes, as well — and dedicating some of high-earners’ investment income to Social Security. 

On the other hand, Republican lawmakers call for cutting earned benefits of younger workers by raising the full-retirement age, means-testing, and replacing the exiting COLA (CPI-W with the Chained CPI-U) that would result in a lower COLA over time. Also, no COLA’s would be provided to high income earners.  

Social Security is considered the third rail a nation’s politics.  Political pundits say that contact with the rail is like touching this high-voltage rail that can result in “political suicide.”  That is why the GOP-controlled House Budget Committee has proposed to create a fiscal commission to give lawmakers political cover to enact the cuts without having to vote on the record.  

Over two months ago, the most recent budget hammered out by the Republican Study Committee, endorsed by 80 percent of the House Republicans, calls for over $1.5 trillion in cuts to Social Security in just the next ten years., including an increase in the retirement age to 69 and cutting disability benefits Medicare costs for seniors by taking away Medicare’s authority to negotiate drug costs, repealing a $ 35 insulin, and $ 2,000 out-of-pocket cap in the Inflation Reduction Act. 

 Additionally, the House GOP budget transitions Medicare to a premium support system that the Congressional Budget Office has found would raises premiums for many seniors.  Finally, it calls for cuts in Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program by $ 4.5 trillion over ten years, taking health care  coverage away from millions of people. 

While President Donald Trump, the GOP’s presidential candidate, has previous said he wouldn’t make cuts to Social Security, recent interviews reveal a change.  According to a March 11, 2024 web posting by CNN’s Kate Sullivan and Tami Luhby, former President Donald Trump, the Republican candidate for president, “suggested[ in a CNBC interview] he was open to making cuts to Social Security and Medicare after opposing touching the entitlement programs and attacking his GOP presidential primary rivals over the issue.”

At the Polls

Legislative proposals to fix the ailing Social Security and Medicare programs are different as night and day. Rather than to  continue to debate the fine points, let’s put the differing policies on the ballot. With just 177 days left before the upcoming November presidential election, Congress must vote on Democratic and Republican legislative proposals, detailing differing provisions as to how these programs can increase the financial stability of these programs. Larson has already thrown his legislative proposal into the hopper, but it won’t see the light of day with a GOP controlled House.    

Last year, 66 million Americans received Social Security benefits.  This year’s Trustee’s report must send a clear message to these beneficiaries that how Congress acts during the next decade will either make or break the Social Security program. 

So, now House Speaker Mike Johnson, (R-La) and Senate President Charles E. Schumer (D- NY) must allow a vote on both Republican and Democratic legislative proposals in their respective chambers.  Let Senate and House lawmakers go on the record and publicly be tied to a vote as to which legislative political strategy they endorse to financially shore up Social Security and Medicare.  Of course, this can give voters a score card. And if this political issue is as important to them as the economy, abortion, and immigration, they can decide at the ballot box who they should bring back to Capitol Hill. 

That’s the American way to do it.

Congressman Magaziner takes baton on bringing back House Aging Committee

Published in RINewsToday on March 4, 2024

Over 30 years ago, the US House Democratic leadership’s belt-tightening efforts to save $1.5 million resulted in the termination of the House Permanent Select Committee on Aging. Congressman Seth Magaziner (RI-2) has picked up the baton from former Congressman David Cicilline who sought to bring back the House Aging Committee during the 114th-117th Congresses.

At press time, Magaziner’s H. Res. 1029, introduced Feb. 23, 2024, has been referred to the House Committee on Rules for mark-up, and if passed, will be considered by the full House.

“Older Americans deserve a seat at the table, particularly when it comes to important issues such as protecting Social Security and Medicare,” said Magaziner in a statement announcing his legislative efforts to pass H. Res. 1029. “I am proud to introduce legislation to re-establish a House Permanent Select Committee on Aging, which will advocate for America’s aging population and ensure seniors’ voices are heard when it comes to federal policymaking,” he says.

Every day 12,000 Americans turn 60. By 2030, nearly 75 million people in the U.S. — or 20% of the country — will be age 65 or older. As our country’s aging population grows, the need for support and services provided under programs like Social Security, SSI, Medicare, Medicaid and the Older Americans Act increases.

“Ensuring that seniors can thrive in our communities should always be a priority for the House of Representatives,” said Congressman Gabe Amo (RI-1)  one of 15 original cosponsors of H. Res. 1029, who initially called for bringing back the House Aging Committee during his campaign to win former Cicillini’s vacant seat.

“That is why it is essential that there is a dedicated committee for lawmakers to focus on the issues that impact seniors’ quality of life. From preserving and expanding Social Security and Medicare to reducing the cost of prescription drugs to keeping seniors in safe and stable housing, there are so many issues to address under the leadership of a Special Committee on Aging. Seniors in Rhode Island and across the country deserve nothing less,” says Amo.

The House can readily create an ad hoc (temporary) select committee by approving a simple resolution that contains language establishing the committee—giving a purpose, defining membership, and detailing other aspects, says EveryCRSReport. Salaries and expenses of standing committees, special and select, are authorized through the Legislative Branch Appropriations bill.

Putting a spotlight on aging issues

H. Res. 1029 simply amends the Rules of the House to establishes a Permanent House Select Committee on Aging, noting that this panel shall not have legislative jurisdiction, but it’s authorized to conduct a continuing comprehensive study and review of the aging issues, such as income maintenance, poverty, housing, health (including medical research), welfare, employment, education, recreation, and long-term care.

The 213-word resolution would have authorized the House Aging Committee to study the use of all practicable means and methods of encouraging the development of public and private programs and policies which will assist seniors in taking a full part in national life and which will encourage the utilization of the knowledge, skills, special aptitudes, and abilities of seniors to contribute to a better quality of life for all Americans.

Finally, the House Resolution would also allow the House Aging Committee to develop policies that would encourage the coordination of both governmental and private programs designed to deal with problems of aging and to review any recommendations made by the President or by the White House Conference on aging in relation to programs or policies affecting seniors.’

Aging organizations, advocates call for passage of H. Res. 1029

According to Max Richtman, President and CEO of the Washington D.C.-based National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM), jurisdiction over many programs affecting seniors is shared by multiple standing committees, which can make it difficult for them to fully explore solutions that do not fit squarely into a single committee’s expertise. Such issues include a variety of intergenerational concerns that merit attention, such as the growing demands on family caregivers and our intractable retirement security crisis. “An inter-disciplinary approach to these issues can best be advanced by a Select Committee with broad jurisdiction,” he says. 

“Re-establishing a Select Committee on Aging in the House would also complement the strong bipartisan work of its counterpart in the Senate,” says Richtman. “In recent years, the Senate Special Committee on Aging has effectively promoted member understanding on a range of issues,” he says, noting that these issues include concerns of grandparents raising grandchildren, elder abuse and fraud, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on older Americans and their families, the importance of financial literacy in planning for retirement, and the costs associated with isolation and loneliness. 

“Historically, the House Select Committee on Aging served as a unique venue that allowed open, bipartisan debate from various ideological and philosophical perspectives to promote consensus that, in turn, helped facilitate the critical work of the standing committees. We believe that issues affecting seniors would be best advanced by the re-establishment of such a Committee in the House,” adds Richtman. 

NCPSSM will endorse H. Res. 1029 and plans to promote it to House lawmakers. If the Democrats take control of the House next November, the organization will approach the Democratic House Speaker when he is crafting rules to operate and request that the rules include reestablishing the HSCoA. 

Nancy Altman, President of the Washington, DC-based Social Security Works, strongly supports Magaziner’ efforts to bring back the HSCoA. “Social Security is a critical issue for older Americans. “There’s so much misinformation out there about Social Security, and as a result many people aren’t confident they’ll get the benefits they’ve earned. More accurate information coming from Congress would help,” she says.

According to Altman, the Social Security Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee does incredibly important work, but Ways and Means has such a broad jurisdiction that Social Security and other aging related issues don’t always get the attention they deserve. “A House Aging Committee could shine an important spotlight, informing the public, the media, and fellow members,” she notes.

Altman offers suggestions to the Rhode Island Congressman to increase the chances for passage of H. Res. 1029. “If he doesn’t already have Republican co-sponsors, he should try to get some since they’re more likely to convince Speaker Mike Johnson to create the committee,” she says. 

In addition to working for passage of H. Res. 1029, this Congress, Altman recommends that Magaziner start working now to line up Democrats to push for the reestablishing the House Select Committee on Aging at the beginning of the next Congress, where there is likely to be Democratic control. 

Robert S. Weiner, now President, Robert Weiner Associates News, was House Aging Committee Chief of Staff under Chairman Claude Pepper, from 1976 to 1980, when the Florida lawmaker headed the HSCoA, as a force to be reckoned with in his advocacy of America’s seniors.

“I saw first-hand the power of that committee when we met with Presideent Jimmy Carter and he endorsed the HSCoA’s efforts to abolish mandatory retirement,” says Weiner, noting that the bill passed 359-2 in the House and 89-10 in the Senate, and signed into law by the President.

According to Weiner, the Carter Center recently invited him to pen an article this fall, for their “last print edition of the “Carter-Mondale Newsletter,” entitled “Carter, Pepper Strike Blow Against Age Discrimination.”

“We also held high-powered hearings on nursing home abuses, cancer insurance fraud, the need for expanded home health care (which ultimately became law), elder abuse, and pensions,” adds Weiner. As to Social Security, the Pepper-O’Neill-Reagan deal guaranteed the solvency of Social Security through 2034.

As to legislative strategy, Weiner suggests that Magaziner get 100 plus sponsors – Democrats and Republicans – by bringing a copy of the resolution to the House floor and getting cosponsoring significantly efficiently and quickly by first-hand recruiting action. He might even ask to address the House for a one-minute speech about the importance of passing H. Res. 1029.

“Both parties are nuts if they don’t help seniors by having a dedicated House Select Committee on Aging,” asserts Weiner.

“This is a significant opportunity for the Congress to take a comprehensive view as to how we as a country wish to better support the aging of America.  Older adults suffered the most during the COVID pandemic — more than 90% of the deaths were individuals over 60.  Many older adults are still suffering from loneliness and social isolation.  Such a bipartisan effort led by Congressmen Magaziner and Amo would be historic,” stated Vincent Marzullo, who served 31 years as a career federal civil rights and social justice administrator at the National Service Agency, and a well-known aging advocate.  He serves on Magaziner’s he RI-02 Seniors Advisory Committee.

The clock is ticking. With the upcoming presidential elections taking place in about 246 days, Magaziner must quickly work to get House Republicans cosponsors to get House Speaker Mike Johnson to allow a vote in the House Rules Committee. Without support of his caucus, he is likely to say no.

Magaziner must convince Congressmen Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), co-chairs of the “Problem Solvers Caucus,” consisting of essentially an equal number of 63 Republican and Democratic lawmakers, to push for passage of H. Res. 1029.  This may be the only way to pass a resolution to reestablish HSCoA in a Republican-controlled House.