Chair’s Letter Supporting Social Security 2100 Act

The Leadership Council of Aging Organizations (LCAO) is a coalition of 69 national nonprofit organizations concerned with the well-being of America’s older population. Over the years we have worked tirelessly to protect and expand Social Security because it provides the foundation for income security of the people of this country. LCAO is writing to commend you for your work in support of America’s seniors and to endorse your bill, Social Security 2100: A Sacred Trust. This legislation would improve Social Security benefits and extend the solvency of the Social Security Trust Funds while not increasing taxes for those earning under $400,000.

Read LCAO chair Katie Smith Sloan’s letter on LCAO’s support for the Social Security 2100 Act.

Letter of Support for Paid Leave Principles

The Leadership Council of Aging Organizations (LCAO) is a coalition of 69 national nonprofit organizations concerned with the well-being of America’s older population and committed to representing their interests in the policy-making arena. An important part of the LCAO’s mission includes advancing the recognition of the immeasurable contribution that America’s family caregivers make to enabling older adults to live meaningful lives in their homes and communities. It is time that, as a country, we acknowledge—and support—the invaluable contribution of America’s family caregivers by enacting a comprehensive paid leave policy, and we urge the 117th Congress and the Biden Administration to promote a family and medical paid leave policy that includes family caregivers. 

Read LCAO chair Katie Smith Sloan’s letter. 

LCAO Chair’s Letter Supporting Protecting Older Job Applicants

The Leadership Council of Aging Organizations (LCAO) is a coalition of 69 national nonprofit organizations concerned with the well-being of America’s older population and committed to representing their interests in the policy-making arena. We urge you to strengthen protections for older workers by voting for H.R. 3992, the Protect Older Job Applicants Act (POJA) of 2021. POJA would clarify that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act’s (ADEA) prohibition against all forms of employment discrimination based on age covers individuals during the hiring phase of employment. 

Read the letter.

Chair’s Letter on LCAO’s Support for the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Restoration Act

 The Leadership Council of Aging Organizations (LCAO) is a coalition of 69 national nonprofit organizations concerned with the well-being of America’s older population and committed to representing their interests in the policy-making arena. We are writing to urge you to support the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Restoration Act (H.R. 3824/S. 2065). Supplemental Security Income (SSI) was created almost 50 years ago to cover the basic needs of older adults and people with disabilities living in extreme poverty. Today the program is falling short of that goal because it has remained frozen in time and keeps out the very people it was meant to help. 

Read LCAO chair Katie Smith Sloan’s letter on LCAO’s support for a care infrastructure package.

Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act

The Leadership Council of Aging Organizations (LCAO) is a coalition of 69 national nonprofit organizations concerned with the well-being of America’s older population and committed to representing their interests in the policy-making arena. We are writing to urge you to vote for passage of the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act (POWADA, H.R. 2062).  POWADA is bipartisan legislation introduced by Representatives Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Rodney Davis (R-IL).

Letter supporting the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act

LCAO Chair’s Letter to Speaker Pelosi on H.J. Res. 38 Overturning Rule on ALJs

Since 1980, the Leadership Council of Aging Organizations (LCAO) has been the country’s preeminent coalition representing older Americans. Composed of 69 national nonprofit organizations, LCAO focuses on the well-being of America’s older population and is committed to representing their interests in the policy-making arena. LCAO serves as a source of information about issues affecting older persons and provides leadership and vision as America meets the challenges and opportunities presented by its aging society. 

LCAO urges you to expeditiously bring H.J. Res. 38 to the House floor for a vote. This resolution, introduced by Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Chairman John B. Larson and Worker and Family Support Subcommittee Chairman Danny K. Davis, would disapprove the rule submitted by the Social Security Administration relating to hearings held by Administrative Appeals Judges of the Appeals Council. 

Read the letter.

President Biden’s Infrastructure Plan Builds a Stronger Foundation for Older Americans

WASHINGTON, DC – The nation’s pre-eminent coalition representing older Americans applauds President Biden’s American Jobs Plan as a bold step in the right direction for all of us as we age. The Leadership Council of Aging Organizations (LCAO) urges Congress to enact the President’s plan, so that older Americans will feel the benefits across many areas of their lives — from housing to health to caregiving.  Most significantly, the plan will provide home and community-based services (HCBS) for older people who otherwise would have to wait as many as five years to get the services they need.

“The American Jobs Plan is not just about aging infrastructure, but the ‘infrastructure of aging.’ Our nation’s capacity to take care of one of our most under-resourced populations has not kept pace with the growing number of older Americans.  The President’s plan is a welcome recognition that any re-imagining of the economy must include a serious commitment to older adults’ needs, which have been laid bare by the COVID pandemic.” – Max Richtman, LCAO Chair and President & CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare

LCAO has identified key portions of the American Jobs Plan that would directly benefit older people:

  • $400 billion (or 20% of the funding in this plan) to improve HCBS for older adults and people with disabilities, including expanding access to Medicaid HCBS, extending the Medicaid HCBS “Money Follows the Person” program, and providing direct care workers with higher wages and the ability to bargain collectively.
  • Improving housing security. LCAO will urge President Biden and the Congress to ensure that housing for older adults, including the section 202 program, are part of this effort.
  • Support for the improvement of high-speed broadband infrastructure.  LCAO wants to ensure that this proposal addresses improving telehealth capacity and economic opportunity.
  • Support efforts to improve America’s transportation infrastructure.  LCAO will call for improvements in public transportation for older adults, including the enhancement of such services under the Older Americans Act.

As the President’s plan is taken up by Congress, LCAO will continue to urge lawmakers to ensure that the American Jobs Act addresses the transportation, housing, broadband access, and caregiving needs of older people.  Just as the President’s American Jobs Plan will rebuild our nation’s crumbling infrastructure, it must build a better foundation for society as a whole by fortifying services for all of us as we age.

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The Leadership Council of Aging Organizations has been the country’s pre-eminent coalition representing older Americans since 1980. Composed of 69 national nonprofit organization members, LCAO focuses on the well-being of America’s older population and is committed to representing their interests in the policy-making arena. 

Media Inquiries to:

Pamela Causey 202-216-8378

Walter Gottlieb 202-276-9089

LCAO Chair Letter to Hill on COVID Relief

* This is the Senate letter. A copy of the letter was also sent to the House of Representatives.

On behalf of the Leadership Council of Aging Organizations (LCAO), I am writing to urge you to prioritize the health, community-based services and supports, and economic security needs of older adults as you move forward with budget reconciliation and efforts to address the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

LCAO Chair Letter to Hill on COVID Relief

LCAO Priorities for President-Elect Biden

LCAO deeply appreciates and concurs wholeheartedly with the incoming administration’s commitment to advancing equity and justice for all people. We are heartened to read the many platforms promoting equity and justice not only for older adults and people with disabilities, but also for multiple racial and ethnic communities and for Tribal Nations, residents of U.S. territories and commonwealths, immigrants, people with limited English proficiency (LEP), LGBTQ+ individuals and families, women, religious communities, and rural communities.

LCAO Priorities for President-Elect Biden

Transition Letter to President-Elect Biden

The Leadership Council of Aging Organizations (LCAO) congratulates you on your election to the Presidency.

Since 1980, LCAO has been the country’s preeminent coalition representing older Americans. Composed of 69 national nonprofit organization members, LCAO focuses on the well-being of America’s older population and is committed to representing their interests in the policy-making arena. LCAO serves as a source of information about issues affecting older persons and provides leadership and vision as America meets the challenges and opportunities presented by its aging society.

Transition Letter to President-Elect Biden