Tag Archives for Nancy Altman

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.

Countdown to 2024 elections heating up about what to do about Social Security

Published in RINewsToday on November 27, 2023

The political clock is ticking. It’s 340 days before the upcoming presidential elections and control of Congress and the White House are up for grabs.  As education, abortion, foreign policy, immigration, crime are emerging as upcoming campaign issues, fixing Social Security and Medicare are also on the voter’s radar screens, too.  

As the Democrats call for expanding and shoring up the existing Social Security Program (by introducing H.R. 4583, Social Security 2100 Act and S. 393, Social Security Expansion Act and other legislative proposals), Republicans are calling for changes in the program including looking at raising the eligibility age for full-time retirement, possible means-testing, and adjusting benefits for higher income earners.

The Nov. 9th Republican debate was not reassuring for younger taxpayers who are counting on collecting the Social Security benefits they earn with every paycheck, says Max Richtman, President and CEO, National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare. Two of the GOP presidential hopefuls promised, in effect, to cut Social Security for future beneficiaries,” he said. 

However, former President Donald J. Trump, who didn’t participate in this debate, has warned the other candidates not to make cuts in Social Security and Medicare benefits. While he opposes raising payroll taxes to ensure the fiscal solvency of these programs, he doesn’t provide specific proposals as how to do this. 

Presidential GOP candidates call for fixes to an unsustainable Social Security system 

According to Richtman, Nikki Haley claimed that Social Security is going “bankrupt,” and she would raise the retirement age for workers who are now in their 20s, and also means-test benefits. Chris Christie also said he would raise the retirement age and eliminate benefits for higher earners, essentially converting Social Security into a safety net program, instead of an earned benefit. 

“Governor Christie and Ambassador Haley fail to recognize that future generations of retirees will rely on their Social Security benefits even more than today’s seniors do — and that means testing would cut deep into the heart of the American middle class,” says Richtman.  “Ron DeSantis — to his credit — promised not to cut Social Security, but demonstrated a fundamental misunderstanding of the program’s finances by perpetuating the myth that the government is ‘stealing’ from the trust fund,” he added.

On Oct. 25, the newly sworn in Republican House Speaker, Mike Johnson (R-LA) sent a message to his caucus calling for Social Security and Medicare reforms to be made by a debt commission to tackle changes being targeted for these programs. Richtman warns that this approach is “designed to give Congress political cover for cutting Americans’ earned benefits.”  In response, the Biden Administration described such a commission as a “death panel” for Social Security.

Over six years ago, Congressman Johnson (now newly elected House Speaker) called for cuts to Social Security. According to Independent News Network, Meidas Touch Network, in a 2018 speech before the American Enterprise Institute, as incoming chair of the Republican Study Committee, he called for cuts in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.  He viewed these programs as “essential threats” to the American way of life, even suggesting that the government might cease to exist if they continued to be fully funded the way they are now. 

Slashing SSA benefits through a Debt Reform Commission

“That is why these commissions have been rightly described as ‘death panels’ for Social Security and Medicare. It is unfortunate and disappointing that one of the Speaker’s first priorities is creating a mechanism intended to slash programs that American workers pay for in every paycheck, fully expecting the benefits to be there when they need them,” says Richtman, charging that the House Speaker “clearly wishes to break this compact with the American people.”

“Congress should address Social Security in the sunlight, through regular order, as it always has,” said Nancy Altman, President of Social Security Works, and former top assistant to Alan Greenspan on the 1983 commission. “The only reason to create a fast-track, closed door commission is to overthrow the will of the American people by cutting their hard-earned benefits. Anyone who supports this commission is supporting benefit cuts.”

In a Nov. 13 correspondence to Congress, Jo Ann C. Jenkins of the Washington, DC-based AARP, also opposes the creation of s debt commission.  She strongly disputes the GOP’s claim that Social Security is a driver of the annual deficits or national debt, stressing that the program is self-financed.

According to Jenkins, 90% of the retirement program is financed through payroll contributions from workers and their employers.  Around 4% of its funding comes from federal income taxes on some Social Security benefits and 5.4% comes from interest earned on U.S. Treasury bonds held by the Social Security Trust Funds.

“Any argument that claims that Social Security is a driver of the national debt – simply because it receives interest from the U.S. Treasury bonds- is disingenuous,” says Jenkins, noting that U.S. Treasury bonds are of the world’s safest investments.

Alex Lawson, Executive Director of the Washington, DC-based Social Security Works, agrees with Richtman’s assessment of House Speaker Johnson’s ongoing approach to Social Security and Medicare. “The Louisiana Congressman recently joined the vast majority of his caucus to vote for a commission designed to fast-track cuts to Social Security and Medicare behind closed doors”, notes Lawson. 

“As Chair of the Republican Study Committee from 2019-2021, Johnson released budgets that included $2 trillion in cuts to Medicare and $750 billion in cuts to Social Security,” says Lawson. This includes raising the retirement age, decimating middle class benefits, making annual cost-of-living increases smaller and ultimately moving towards privation of Social Security and Medicare,” he notes.  

With Johnson pushing for the creation of a debt commission, over 100 organizations have become co-signers on Nov. 8 correspondence to Congress opposing the legislative proposal.   

Aging groups begin to mobilize

While the Social Security Trust Fund Report, released in April 2023, warned that Social Security funds will become depleted in 2033, making the program totally insolvent in 2034 when beneficiaries could only receive about 80 percent of their scheduled benefits, the cosigners say the program’s projected short falls are “manageable by size and still a decade away, are fully understood.” 

“In this Congress alone, several legislative proposals that do just that have been introduced with numerous cosponsors. The only reason to make changes to Social Security via a closed-door commission is to cut already modest earned benefits — something the American people overwhelmingly oppose  — while avoiding political accountability, say the co-signers. 

“Congress already has a process to confront the federal debt. That process is known as reconciliation. Revealingly, Social Security cuts are excluded from the reconciliation procedure, because, as previously stated, the program is totally self-funded, cannot pay benefits or associated costs without the revenue to cover the costs, has no borrowing authority, and, therefore, does not add a penny to the deficit. Consequently, if a debt commission with jurisdiction over Social Security were to be formed, its purpose would be clear: to cut its modest benefits, while avoiding political accountability,” warn the cosponsors.

But the shortfall is real

In an article in Money magazine, the writer notes, “Taxpayer funds cover the bulk of Social Security payments, but if the program’s reserves run dry, beneficiaries would face immediate 20% cuts to their checks come 2034. Any decrease to Social Security payments would likely be extremely unpopular, considering they’re a major source of retirement income for tens of millions of people.” According to a new report from the ​​American Academy of Actuaries, the longer the issue is put off, the harder it will be to address the looming shortfall.

The Third Rail of national politics 

According to AARP research, “85% of older Americans, regardless of party, strongly oppose targeting Social Security and Medicare to reduce federal budget deficits. Specifically, the survey found that 88 percent of Republicans, 79 percent of Independents, and 87 percent of Democrats strongly oppose cutting Social Security. Similarly, 86 percent of Republicans, 80 percent of independents, and 88 percent of Democrats said they strongly oppose cutting Medicare.”

Washington insiders consider Social Security to be the “third rail of a nation’s politics”, a metaphor coming from the high-voltage third rail in some electric railway systems. Stepping on it usually results in electrocution and the use of the term in the political arena refers to “political death”.

Next November, can the GOP politically survive stepping on the third rail by targeting the nation’s most popular social welfare programs (Social Security and Medicare) for adjustments to reduce the federal budget deficit? When the dust settles after November, 2024 elections, we’ll see if younger voters, who have the most to economically lose, view Social Security and Medicare as a key issue influencing their vote and “untouchable.”

We’ll see. 

Modest Social Security COLA increase seen as chump change by some

Published in RINewsToday on October 16, 2023

Last week, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced that Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for more than 71 million beneficiaries will increase 3.2% in 2024, about $59 per month starting in January. The 2024 payment declined from last year’s 8.7%, but that had been the highest in four decades. And, its higher than the average 2.6% increase recorded over the past 20 years.

The Social Security Act determined how the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is calculated. Enacted on August 14, 1935, the Act ties the annual COLA to the increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) as determined by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

More than 66 million Social Security beneficiaries will see that COLA increase 3.2% beginning in January 2024, and increased payments to approximately 7.5 million people receiving SSI will begin on December 29, 2023. (Note: some people receive both Social Security and SSI benefits).  

“Social Security and SSI benefits will increase in 2024, and this will help millions of people keep up with expenses,” observes Kilolo Kijakazi, Acting Commissioner of Social Security in an Oct. 12 statement announcing this year’s COLA increase.

According to SSA, some other adjustments that will also take effect in January of each year are based on the increase in average wages. Based on that increase, the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) will increase to $168,600 from $160,200.

Advocacy groups on aging talk turkey about COLA

“The annual COLA is a reminder of Social Security’s unique importance. Unlike private-sector pension plans, whose benefits erode over time, Social Security is designed to keep up with rising prices, noted Nancy Altman, President of the Washington, DC-based Social Security Works (SSW), in response to SSA’s COLA announcement.  

“Retirees can rest a little easier at night knowing they will soon receive an increase in their Social Security checks to help them keep up with rising prices,” said Jo Ann Jenkins, AARP chief executive. “We know older Americans are still feeling the sting when they buy groceries and gas, making every dollar important,” she added, stressing that Social Security has been the foundation for financial security for hundreds of millions of retirees. “SSA’s COLA announcement shows that it’s continuing to deliver on this promise,” she says.  

However, Max Richtman, President and CEO, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare charges, “While we are grateful that Social Security is the only major retirement program with a built-in cost-of-living adjustment, the current formula for determining COLAs is inherently flawed. SSA’s current COLA formula doesn’t truly reflect the increase in prices for the goods and services that beneficiaries rely on.”

According to Richtman, the 3.2% 2024 COLA only represents a modest $59 increase in the average monthly benefit for retired workers, and that’s before deducting the projected increase in the 2024 Medicare Part B premium of about $10 per month. Because of this the average retirement beneficiary will receive a net COLA of about $50. 

Richtman notes, “That is not enough for a tank of gas or half a week’s worth of groceries in many states. The net COLA will barely cover one brand-name prescription co-pay for some patients.”  

Last year, Richtman noted that the COLA of 8.7% was unusually high, the highest in some 40 years. But post-pandemic inflation was also at record highs, he said, noting that historically, COLA’s have been relatively low. In fact, the COLA has been ZERO; three times since 2009.  

“Seniors deserve an accurate COLA formula that accounts for the impact of inflation on their living costs. That is supposed to be the entire purpose of a COLA. The current formula measures the impact of inflation on urban wage earners and clerical workers. How is that a reasonable formula for seniors? Seniors have different spending patterns than urban wage earners & clerical workers,” asks Richtman.  

Richtman notes that seniors spend more than other age group on expenses like housing, long-term care, and medical services. “We strongly favor the adoption of the CPI-E (Consumer Price for the Elderly) for calculating COLAs. The CPI-E would more accurately reflect the impact of inflation on the goods and services seniors need, he believes. 

The CPI-E is included in both major pieces of legislation to expand and protect Social Security that have been introduced in this Congress: Bernie Sanders’ Social Security Expansion Act and Rep. John Larson’s Social Security 2100 Act.  We have endorsed both of those bills as part of our commitment to boosting Social Security for current and future retirees. It’s past time for Congress to act,” says Richtman. 

Although the 3.2% COLA is well above the 2.6% average over the past 20 years, a newly released retirement survey released on Oct. 12, 2023, by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) indicates that seniors are pessimistic about their financial well-being in the upcoming months and very concerned about growing calls on Capitol Hill for Social Security cuts. Sixty-eight percent of survey participants report that their household expenses remain at least 10 percent higher than one year ago, although the overall inflation rate has slowed. This situation has persisted over the past 12 months.

According to TSCL’s latest retirement survey, worry that retirement income won’t be enough to cover the cost of essentials in the coming months is a top concern of 56 percent of survey respondents. Social Security benefit cuts are an even bigger concern, ranked as the number one worry by nearly 6 out of 10 survey participants, or 59%. Over the past year, benefit cuts and trims have affected a large percentage of older Americans low-income households, individuals who can least afford them.

A year ago, TSCL warned that higher incomes due to the 5.9% and 8.7% COLAs in 2022 and 2023 could potentially affect eligibility for low-income assistance programs such as SNAP and rental assistance. Earlier this year, federal emergency COVID assistance for SNAP (food stamps) and Medicaid also ended. Surveys conducted in 2022 and this year suggest that significant numbers of lower-income older households have lost access to some safety net programs over the past 12 months, the survey finds.

A Final Note…

Social Security plans to start notifying beneficiaries about their new COLA amount by mail starting in early December. Individuals who have a personal “my Social Security account” can view their COLA notice online, which is secure, easy, and faster than receiving a letter in the mail. People can set up text or email alerts when there is a new message–such as their COLA notice—instead of waiting for them in my Social Security.

People will need to have a “my Social Security account” by November 14 to see their COLA notice online. To get started, visit www.ssa.gov/myaccount.

Information about Medicare changes for 2024 will be available at www.medicare.gov. For Social Security beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare, their new 2024 benefit amount will be available in December through the mailed COLA notice and my Social Security’s Message Center.

For details about SSA’s 2024 Changes, go to: https://www.ssa.gov/news/press/factsheets/colafacts2024.pdf.