As co-chair of the Congressional Task Force on Seniors in the House of Representatives, I am committed to improving the health and well-being of aging Americans. I have consistently supported policies that are important to seniors in Sacramento, such as protecting Social Security, strengthening Medicare, and reforming our financial system so that all Americans have the tool they need to achieve retirement security. These are critical components of the Democratic agenda to ensure that older Americans have the stability and security that they have earned and deserve.
Seniors Bill of Rights
Our elderly Americans have spent many years working to raise families and improve the communities in which they live, and we must ensure they are treated fairly and with dignity as they age. To ensure that our seniors are respected by the Federal Government, I have authored the Seniors Bill of Rights. The Seniors Bill of Rights outlines the basic tenets I believe our senior citizens deserve, including:
The right to a financially secure retirement.
The right to quality, affordable health care.
The right to protection from scams and fraud.
The right to a safe and livable community.
To protect our seniors from abuse, I will only support legislation that protects these rights.
Social Security
Social Security, a federal program established as part of the New Deal in the 1935, provides monthly monetary assistance to retirees, their survivors, and the disabled. Social Security is a pillar of our society, representing our nation’s promise to preserving the well-being and dignity of its people as they grow older. For 75 years, Social Security has provided older Americans with stability and security by offering a minimum level of guaranteed income to aging citizens.
During this time of great economic hardship, nothing could be more important than ensuring our seniors have the resources
necessary for maintaining a healthy and active life style. That is why I
have worked diligently to ensure the federal government continues to
provide the retirement benefits our seniors have earned.
In 2010, the Social Security Administration will allocate $708 billion in benefits to over 51 million Americans. Currently, payroll taxes generate enough revenue to cover the current beneficiaries. However, as the baby boom generation approaches retirement, concerns about the system’s financial viability have dominated our political discourse.
Since 1975, Social Security benefits have increased yearly due to a formula based COLA, which takes into account changes in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), an increase in the CPI-W from the third quarter of the last year to the third quarter of the current year will result in an automatic Social Security benefits raise. If there is no percentage increase in the CPI-W between the two periods, no COLA is payable. Unfortunately, the drop in consumer prices over the past year has canceled the automatic COLA in 2011.
With this prospect in mind, in July of this year I joined my colleagues in introducing the Seniors Protection Act of 2010 (H.R. 5987) as an original cosponsor. H.R. 5987 would provide seniors and veterans with a $250 payment in lieu of the stagnant cost of living adjustment available for the year 2011.
Additionally, President Obama has announced his support for providing another year of the $250 Economic Recovery payments enacted last year under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. With the President’s proposal, 57 million people, including the 49 million Americans who rely on Social Security payments, will benefit.
Congresswoman Matsui speaks on the House floor about the importance of preserving and strengthening Social Security.
Medicare
For 45 years, Medicare has provided Seniors with access to affordable health care. Over 39 million retired Americans rely on Medicare to provide some or all of their health insurance needs. Despite
access to such benefits, elderly Americans spend almost a quarter of
their yearly income on health care services. That is why I have worked
to strengthen our Medicare program, and ensure it continues to provide
retired Americans access to affordable and reliable health care
insurance.
To help alleviate the financial impact of medical coverage, I have supported a number of bills that will reduce costs to Medicare recipients, while increasing benefit in the program. For example, the Affordable Care Act, also known as the new health reform law, takes concrete steps to strengthening Medicare for all who receive it, without cutting any benefits to patients. Before passage of the law, Medicare provided some assistance with drug costs, but the program included a coverage gap where no help with paying for a beneficiary’s prescription drugs was provided. Commonly referred to as the “donut hole,” nearly 10 percent of Medicare beneficiaries will reach this coverage gap, a problem which was created by prescription drug reforms put in place by the previous Administration. Since the implementation of those policies, the donut hole has left thousands of seniors to choose between buying the prescriptions they need and putting food on the table. But as a result of the new health insurance reform law, help is already on the way. This year, 4 million seniors across the country are expected to receive a donut hole check of $250 over the next several months to help them cover their prescription drug costs. Beginning January 1, 2011, seniors in the donut hole will receive a 50 percent discount on brand name drugs, and by 2020, the donut hole will be completely closed, giving Medicare beneficiaries greater economic stability and security, without compromising their health.
Another important benefit for Medicare beneficiaries from the health reform law is increased access to and focus on preventative care. Before the new law, Medicare beneficiaries only received one wellness physical throughout their entire time on the program. Starting next year, all Medicare beneficiaries will be able to see their doctor once a year for an annual physical. This will allow Medicare beneficiaries the chance to focus on wellness and prevention, while providing the time for doctors to identify risk factors or developing ailments early. Furthermore, Medicare beneficiaries will have access to a host of new preventative screenings and procedures, without any out-of-pocket costs. This benefit will allow doctors to catch developing diseases early, when they often can be treated more effectively and with minimal disruption to the patient.
Finally, the law strengthens the system of Medicare as a whole. It provides for increasing the primary care workforce, which will increase Medicare beneficiaries’ access to care, and strengthens the financial footing of the program. This is a critical step, as it will extended Medicare solvency by an additional 12 years, from 2017 to 2029.
Congresswoman Matsui speaks on the importance of protecting Medicare.
Accomplishments of 111TH Congress for America’s Seniors
PROTECTING SOCIAL SECURITY FROM REPUBLICAN PRIVATIZATION PLANS
Social Security is once again under assault by Congressional Republicans.
A number of key Republicans have proposed to privatize and cut Social Security – turning it over to the whims of Wall Street, just as President George W. Bush tried to do in 2005.
If President Bush and the Republicans had succeeded in 2005, seniors would have lost trillions more in the stock market meltdown of the Bush recession – instead, no one lost a penny in Social Security.
Social Security has been, for 75 years, a bedrock promise. Seniors have earned it with a lifetime of hard work, and it should be there for today’s seniors and future generations.
Democrats have kept privatization plans off the table this Congress and are working to strengthen Social Security. Social Security is not the cause of our budget deficits.
PROTECTING MEDICARE FROM REPUBLICAN “VOUCHER” PLANS
Congressional Republicans have a plan to turn Medicare into a voucher system, ending the government guarantee Americans pay into with a lifetime of work, and sending seniors out into the private insurance market to fend for themselves with a voucher that decreases in value each year.
On April 2, 2009, Democrats defeated the House Republican budget plan, offered by Rep. Paul Ryan, Ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee. Nearly 80 percent of House Republicans voted in favor of the Ryan Medicare plan.
Under the plan, all Americans under the age of 55 would not receive Medicare when they reached 65. Instead, they would receive a voucher with which to purchase private health insurance.
Under the plan, the voucher would increase at an average annual rate of only one-half of the rate of increase in health care costs. Inevitably, the burden of rising health care costs would fall on seniors.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the plan would cut projected Medicare spending by 37 percent by 2040, and by 76 percent by 2080. That’s trillions of dollars that would not go to health care for seniors.
The Ryan plan also called for cutting Medicare spending over the next 10 years by up to $605 billion.
Saves millions of seniors up to thousands of dollars on their prescription drug costs each year by phasing out the Medicare prescription drug ‘donut hole’ coverage gap. In 2010, 4 million seniors who hit the donut hole are receiving a $250 rebate check. Beginning in 2011, seniors who hit the donut hole will receive a 50 percent discount on brand name drugs, and the donut hole is completely closed by 2020.
Beginning on January 1, 2011, provides that seniors will receive, under Medicare, free preventive services such as mammograms and certain colon cancer tests and a free annual physical.
Strengthens Medicare by extending its solvency by an additional 12 years, from 2017 to 2029.
Includes Medicare efficiencies, so that experts estimate that seniors will save on average nearly $200 per year in premiums and over $200 per year in co-payments in 2018 compared to what they would have paid without the new law.
Improves the quality of care by providing incentives, under Medicare, for doctors to work together to coordinate the care of the individual patient, particularly critical for chronic conditions like diabetes.
Creates a new voluntary long-term care insurance program called CLASS, which will provide a cash benefit to help seniors obtain services and supports that will help them to remain in their homes.
To help offset the cost of employer-based retiree health plans, creates a program to preserve those plans and help people who retire before age 65 get the affordable care they need.
Contains new tools to crack down on waste, fraud and abuse in Medicare – including strengthening the screenings of providers who want to participate in Medicare and strengthening criminal penalties.
Contains provisions to improve the quality of care in nursing homes, including facilitating the filing of complaints and establishing a nationwide program of background checks for employees in nursing homes.
Ensures that seniors will continue to have access to the doctors of their choice under Medicare, by blocking a scheduled 21 percent cut in Medicare payments to physicians, which would have led to many doctors stopping seeing Medicare patients. The bill also updated physician payments by 2.2 percent.
Would have ensured that all Medicare enrollees would be protected from an increase in the Medicare Part B premium in 2010 and that no seniors would see a cut in their Social Security checks.
Ensures needed funding for long-term care by increasing the federal match for Medicaid through 2010, which is the key program for helping pay for long-term care for low-income seniors and seniors who have exhausted their retirement savings. Medicaid covers more than two-thirds of all nursing home residents.
Invests $10 billion in critical health research, in order to advance research capable of making breakthroughs in the areas of such illnesses as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, cancer, and heart disease.
Invests $19 billion to accelerate the adoption of Health Information Technology (HIT) systems by doctors and hospitals, to modernize the health care system, save billions, reduce errors and improve quality.
Ensures needed funding for long-term care by extending enhanced federal match provisions for Medicaid, which is the nation’s largest source of coverage for long-term care, through June 30, 2011. Medicaid covers more than two-thirds of all nursing home residents.
REBUILDING THE ECONOMY AND SENIORS’ ECONOMIC SECURITY
Put cash in the pockets of Social Security recipients – providing an automatic $250 payment to every adult Social Security recipient in 2009.
Invested $120 million in emergency spending to create jobs for seniors in 2009 and 2010 – funding the Senior Community Service Employment Program, a program providing jobs for seniors with community service organizations. With the recession’s impact on older workers, these additional funds have been needed to provide opportunities for tens of thousands of older workers.
Is responsible for up to 3.3 million jobs nationwide through June 2010, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
Has helped deliver a large swing in economic growth (a swing of 8.5 points -- from -6.8 percent in late 2008 to +1.7 percent), which has helped the stock market rise by 70 percent from its low in March 2009 – thereby stabilizing retirement savings.
Provides $825 million for 2010, an increase of $254 million above 2009, for the Senior Community Service Employment Program – providing unemployed adults over the age of 55 community service jobs.
Creates up to 500,000 jobs, by leveraging $300 billion in private sector loans primarily for small businesses through a new lending fund for community banks.
Includes $12 billion in small business tax relief, including an extension of 50% bonus depreciation, raising the enhanced small business expensing limit to $500,000, and providing a 100% exclusion of capital gains from taxes for investors in small businesses.
Is fully paid for by closing tax loopholes. Doesn’t add a dime to the deficit.
Creates up to 300,000 jobs, by providing a payroll tax holiday for businesses that hire workers who have been unemployed for 60 days or longer and a tax credit for businesses that retain these workers.
Unleashes tens of billions of dollars to rebuild infrastructure to save or create 1 million American jobs.
Is fully paid for by cracking down on offshore accounts for the wealthy. Doesn’t add a dime to the deficit.
Creates and saves approximately 319,000 jobs – saving 161,000 teacher jobs this school year and providing state aid that will create and save another 158,000 jobs, including police officers, firefighters, nurses, and private sector workers.
Is fully paid for by closing tax loopholes that encourage corporations to ship American jobs overseas.
Establishes a new independent watchdog agency that is able to act fast to:
ensure American consumers get the clear, accurate information they need to shop for mortgages, credit cards, student loans, payday loans and other financial products, and
protect them from hidden fees, abusive terms, and from unfair and deceptive practices.
Reforms and strengthens the Security and Exchange Commission’s ability to enforce securities laws, to help stop Bernie Madoff-type scams that caused seniors to lose their retirement savings. Big bank executives had engaged in reckless behavior at the expense of the retirement savings of many of America’s seniors.
Puts an end to taxpayer-funded bailouts and the idea of "too big to fail."
"AARP supports this legislation because it will establish a watchdog that will protect Americans from getting a mortgage or credit card that has hidden fees that cause their bills to skyrocket; ensure Americans get the clear, accurate information they need to shop for mortgages, credit cards and other financial products; and crack down on investment scams targeted at older Americans."
Provides tough new protections for consumers – banning unfair rate increases and forbidding the abusive fees and penalties that credit card companies have inflicted on America’s seniors.
Provides $100 million for critical senior nutrition programs like Meals on Wheels and meals served at senior centers, which has provided about 14 million more meals for seniors nationwide.
Includes provisions to help older homeowners tap the equity in their homes with reverse mortgages to refinance unaffordable mortgages, pay medical bills, and meet other daily expenses.
Provides $5 billion to help more than one million modest-income households, including hundreds of thousands of seniors, weatherize their homes and reduce their heating bills by an average of 32 percent.
Provides funding for 2010 to boost senior nutrition programs, senior transportation programs, and other supportive services. This funding will help provide nearly 239 million meals to 2.5 million seniors in 2010, an increase of about 3 million meals over 2009.
Provides sufficient funding for Low Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) for 2010 to ensure that approximately 7.5 million households, including millions of seniors, receive the home energy assistance that they need.
Provides additional funding for federal and state inspections of nursing homes and other medical facilities, in order to improve the quality of care and give inspectors greater opportunities to identify infection control problems.
Puts in federal statute a pay-as-you-go requirement, imposing tough fiscal discipline, requiring that new policies that increase mandatory spending or reduce revenues must be fully offset.
Helped to create the record budget surpluses the nation enjoyed under President Clinton
Saves taxpayers money by cracking down on Pentagon waste and cost overruns, which an independent watchdog says amount to $296 billion just for the 96 largest weapons systems.
Saves taxpayers money by helping identify, reduce and eliminate improper payments by federal agencies, as well as recovering lost funds, on behalf of U.S. taxpayers, that federal agencies have spent improperly.
Issues and Legislation 
the communities in which they live, and we must ensure they are treated fairly and with dignity as they age. To ensure that our seniors are respected by the Federal Government, I have authored the Seniors Bill of Rights. The Seniors Bill of Rights outlines the basic tenets I believe our senior citizens deserve, including:
As co-chair of the 
