One of my highest priorities as a Member of Congress is protecting the interests of America's senior citizens. We all must work towards ensuring the integrity and solvency of the Social Security and Medicare programs. Additionally, we need to make sure that seniors are not being treated unfairly by any unscrupulous federal laws, like the Government Pension Offset and Social Security windfall taxes.

As seniors are well aware, Social Security recipients did not receive a cost of living adjustment (COLA) in 2010. Recipients have received a COLA increase every year since 1975.
The strain this places on seniors in my district is just too much of a burden. Seniors have had to deal with Medicare Part A hospital deductibles rising by 43 percent since 2000, and Part B deductibles rising by 50 percent over the same period. In the Medicare Trustees’ Report of 2009, it was indicated that one third of the average Social Security check in 2020 will be spent on health-care-costs, “out of pocket.” Additionally, over the past couple of years seniors have been greatly affected by the decline in retirement investments and the value of their homes.

That is why I supported the “Medicare Premium Fairness Act” (H.R. 3631), a bill to ensure that Medicare premiums will not increase for seniors facing a freeze on their Social Security COLAs. Additionally, I have been a vocal opponent of misguided efforts to cut nearly $500 billion from Medicare programs in order to pay for the new health care reform law. Our nation needs serious health reform but not at the expense of our seniors.

It is in the age of retirement that the daily burdens placed on workers should be lifted so that seniors can live their “golden years” comfortably. Unfortunately, many seniors who had fruitful careers as teachers, firefighters, and police officers, are being penalized by additional tax burdens and penalties.

This is why I have joined Congressman Howard Berman to introduce legislation to repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) from the social security tax code. I believe that seniors who have worked most of their lives to earn a retirement should not be punished for going into a public service position later in their careers. This oppressive penalty should be eliminated immediately to alleviate a heavy burden placed on the backs of our seniors.

There are a number of ways that the federal government can improve seniors’ lives and well-being and I will continue to fight for the protections that seniors deserve.
 

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