Standing Up for Older Americans

Many of you selected "standing up for older Americans" as a priority in my survey a few weeks ago. I help take care of my 90-year-old mom, so I appreciate the importance of this issue. Caring for Mom has helped me develop a personal understanding of the challenges that older Americans face and how important it is to maintain as much independence as possible when we age.

All people deserve to live with dignity and respect, which is why a secure retirement and earned benefits like Social Security are so important.

I have spent much of my adult life fighting for seniors, and I won't stop now. In Congress, I've focused on:

Passing the Older Americans Act, which provides support for seniors by providing critical funding for Meals on Wheels and community centers, and by protecting seniors from elder abuse.
Opposing every effort to privatize Social Security and end Medicare as we know it, which would impose thousands of dollars in extra costs on older Americans.
Advocating for a cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security recipients so their payments keep up with the rising costs of housing, medication, and other basic needs.
Supporting efforts to keep the Social Security Trust Fund solvent, including lifting the payroll cap for Social Security contributions.
Cosponsoring the Social Security 2100 Act, a comprehensive Social Security update that would increase benefits for current beneficiaries, improve the cost of living adjustment (COLA) seniors receive, and give more than 10 million Americans a tax break by raising the threshold for taxing benefits for individual and joint filers. This bill will make the Social Security Trust Fund fully solvent for more than 75 years.

Throughout their lives, seniors have contributed significantly to the quality of life in our communities. It's our responsibility to make sure they can live the rest of their lives with dignity.

Thank you for standing with me, and with older Americans,