Arizona is now the second-fastest growing state in the nation and our senior population is growing with it—jumping from 90,000 in 1965 to over 758,000 people today. Our seniors count on the guaranteed benefits of Medicare and Social Security for a safe and healthy retirement.  The biggest threat to the solvency of Medicare and Social Security is our huge federal debt of, and I will work to close the deficit each year through commonsense measures that I learned as a small businesswoman and as a member of the Arizona legislature.

The Older Americans’ Job Opportunities Blueprint (JOB) Act sets in motion a national initiative to help those seniors who want or need to work to find it. This bill:

• Expands Eligibility of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) to Include Older Workers (over age 55) by modifying the WOTC to allow credit for employers that hire workers 55 and older whose income is below the 125 percent of poverty threshold.  

The Back to School Act provides tax credits to Americans 55+ to go back to school. This bill:

• Creates a tax credit of up to $2,500 a year of qualified education expenses for seniors who enroll in classes (part-time of full-time) at an accredited educational institution. 
  
• Extends the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) through December 31, 2012. 
• Creates a National Resource Center on Aging and the Workforce within the Department of Labor to collect, organize, and disseminate older worker information. 

Preserving Medicare

For nearly 50 years, Medicare has provided health care for Americans over 65.  We have over 128,000 Medicare beneficiaries in Arizona’s Eighth Congressional district alone.  In recent years, rising health care costs have made it increasingly more difficult for seniors to access the care they need. In fact, the average Part D plus Part B premium consumed 12 percent of the average Social Security benefit in 2010.
 
That is why I voted for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590) on March 21, 2010.  Not only does this bill protect and preserve Medicare for current and future generations, is actually makes it better.  Seniors can expect free preventive care, lower drug costs, better primary care, and a 9-year extension of the life of the Medicare Trust Fund.  >>MORE INFO

Protecting Access to Your Doctor

For the 11th time in nine years, physicians are facing a significant Medicare payment cut and many doctors are unsure whether they can continue serving Medicare patients.  I believe that seniors and veterans should have the peace of mind to know that the doctor of their choice will be available to see them.  That is why I support a permanent fix to the deeply-flawed Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) to ensure that physicians will be reimbursed fairly and equitably without having to worry about cuts year after year, or month after month. 
 
Unfortunately too many doctors have already had to make the tough choice to leave the Medicare program.  I have introduced The More Doctors, More Choices Act to give doctors a one-time opportunity to opt back into Medicare when a long-term payment fix goes into effect and protect our seniors’ access to their doctors.

Keeping Social Security Strong

I am dedicated to strengthening Social Security’s long-term finances so that it continues to provide a guaranteed base of retirement, disability and survivor’s income for current and future generations.  Seniors have put in a lifetime of hard work, helping to make our economy grow and make our nation great, and they deserve a safe and secure retirement.  Social Security is America’s most successful retirement protection program and it continues to serve Americans well.  Without Social Security, half of all seniors would fall into poverty.  In these difficult economic times, the security of private pensions is in greater doubt, and the guaranteed benefits of Social Security are more important than ever.  That is why I continue to promote policies that respect our seniors and protect against risky privatization schemes.

I have also supported efforts to bridge the gap between payments to government employees and workers in the private sector. I am a cosponsor of H.R. 82, the Social Security Fairness Act to repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) provision and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), which unfairly penalize some Americans and short them of Social Security benefits they need and deserve.  Public servants, like teachers, police officers, and firefighters do not receive their full Social Security benefits despite having paid into the system throughout their careers, due to the GPO and WEP.