Friday Alert Archives

Without signed legislation to raise the national debt limit by August 2, the Treasury will not have enough funds to pay the nation’s bills. Administration officials have warned of potentially calamitous effects on the economy if that happens - a spike in interest rates, a plunge in stock markets and a tightening in the job market.

President Obama had once set Friday, July 22, as the day when an agreement had to be reached so that corresponding legislation to raise the debt ceiling could be drafted and passed by the House and Senate. However, that timeline has now been extended. With several deals still possible, uncertainty for seniors remains.

With little more than two weeks to go before a possible government default, congressional leaders are sounding out their members this weekend over a deal to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling while cutting the overall debt by some $2 trillion over ten years -- or look for an unorthodox legislative approach.

President Obama is pressing congressional leaders “to consider a far-reaching debt-reduction plan that would force Democrats to accept major changes to Social Security and Medicare in exchange for Republican support for fresh tax revenue,” The Washington Post reported on Thursday.

According to The Washington Post, leading congressional Democrats “immediately recoiled” Tuesday from a new proposal to cut $600 billion in Medicare spending over the next decade — in part by raising the eligibility age. Sens. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) unveiled the proposal as part of a bipartisan effort to produce the kind of savings necessary to achieve the $2 trillion in debt reduction both parties say is needed to convince lawmakers to vote to raise the debt ceiling.

According to Politico, the seniors lobby AARP is in “damage-control mode” following a news report last Friday in The Wall Street Journal that the group is open to cuts to Social Security benefits. A nationwide tour by AARP soliciting feedback from their members and seniors about what Social Security reforms the group should propose is now on hold until after the current round of deficit talks in Washington passes, according to David Certner, AARP’s Legislative Director.

A story ran in The Wall Street Journal today stating that AARP supports cutting Social Security benefits. “AARP does not speak for all seniors.  And on this topic probably not for many of their own members,” said Edward F. Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance. “There is no ambiguity on where the Alliance for Retired Americans stands on Social Security - never has been, never will be. We are against Social Security benefit cuts for seniors,” he continued.

A bad idea that just won’t go away, Social Security privatization is once again back in the public debate with the recent introduction of a bill in Congress to create private savings plans in lieu of Social Security.  The legislation, H.R. 2109, was introduced by Rep. Pete Sessions (TX), who also serves as head of the House Republican campaign committee.  The bill has been co-sponsored by Reps. Marsha Blackburn (TN), Dan Burton (IN), Randy Neugebauer (TX), Lamar Smith (TX), Lee Terry (NE) and Jeb Hensarling (TX), all Republicans.

On Tuesday, the Alliance released its 2010 Congressional Voting Record, detailing the votes of every U.S. Senator and Representative on key issues affecting current and future retirees. The document is available at http://bit.ly/kpet7N. “At a time when Congress has been debating the future of Social Security and Medicare, it is more important than ever that people of all ages know the issues and how their elected officials voted,” said Alliance President Barbara J. Easterling. The voting record examines ten key Senate votes and ten key House votes from 2010, giving the roll calls on issues such as strengthening Medicare, help for Social Security recipients, and protecting older Americans from consumer and lending fraud. According to the Voting Record, 183 U.S. House Members achieved perfect scores of 100% in 2010, while 83 members of the House received scores of zero. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), the architect of the GOP’s plan to privatize Medicare and cut Social Security, was one of the House members receiving a grade of zero. Twenty-two members of the U.S. Senate received perfect scores of 100%, while 16 Senators received scores of zero.

The GOP’s desire to privatize Medicare and turn it into voucher program has not only hit a speed bump, it has completely backfired.  Their proposal, authored by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), passed the House on April 15, but is becoming increasingly unpopular amongst a wide array of voters.  After weeks of angry town hall meetings, this week saw two specific political consequences of the wildly unpopular plan.  First, Democrat Kathy Hochul, who was outspoken in her opposition to the plan, won a special election to fill a vacant congressional seat in upstate New York.  Hochul’s victory would have been hard to predict months ago, as it is one the most conservative House districts in the state and is a seat the Republicans had held for 40 years.  Registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by 30,000 in the district.  Many political analysts viewed the race as referendum on the Ryan Medicare plan.