H.R. 8171 would undo the executive order and end the confusion has caused about how to carry it out. It would also put the power to make Social Security policy back into the hands of Congress where it belongs. Americans count on Social Security and they do not want the benefits they have paid for to be cut or eliminated.
LCAO Letter Endorsing Save Our Social Security Act
The Leadership Council of Aging Organizations (LCAO), a coalition of 69 national nonprofit groups concerned with the well-being of America’s older population, strongly urges you to reverse your August 8th executive action on the deferral of employee Social Security payroll contributions to the end of 2020. While the stated goal may be to boost the economy and get money into the pockets of workers hurt by the coronavirus, deferring contributions to Social Security will not help the millions of workers who have lost their jobs and it will do nothing for those who have left the workforce because of such reasons as retirement, disability or caregiving.
We, the undersigned members of the Leadership Council of Aging Organizations (LCAO), urge you to correct a coronavirus-related glitch in current law. If left uncorrected, it would result in a sizable benefit cut in Social Security retirement income for individuals born in 1960 and 1961. Please include H.R. 7499, the “Social Security COVID Correction and Equity Act,” in the next coronavirus relief legislation. Although the problem was revealed by the COVID-19-induced economic crisis, it has long-term implications for future generations.
LCAO Letter Supporting Fixing the Social Security Notch Issue
LCAO sent a Statement of Record to the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging to highlight the importance of addressing Social Isolation and Loneliness during COVID-19. Social isolation and loneliness are serious health risks that become more problematic with increasing age.
LCAO called upon the federal government to mobilize quickly to lead the nation through this pandemic. The Administration’s COVID-19 Task Force actions, the Families First legislation, and the CARES Act have been an important start; yet, an even more robust federal response is needed, quickly, to protect the health and well-being of older adults, family caregivers, direct care workers, and the professional health and social services workforce. Without immediate federal action, state and local programs and services will have difficulty meeting the needs of older adults all across the country.
A bill that would help older adults fight back against age discrimination on the job moved one step closer to becoming law Wednesday when the House of Representatives passed it with bipartisan support.
The House voted 261-155 in favor of H.R. 1230, the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act (POWADA). The legislation would restore protections lost in a 2009 U.S. Supreme Court decision that has made it more difficult for people who face age discrimination in the workplace to successfully challenge such bias in court.