Members of Congress remained in their home states and districts this week for Tuesday’s mid-term elections. They are expected to return to Capitol Hill to begin the “lame duck” session on Wednesday, November 12th, following the Veterans Day holiday.
Mid-Term Elections Shift Balance of Power
Republicans dominated Tuesday’s mid-term elections, gaining control of the Senate and picking up twelve additional seats in the House, making it their largest majority in decades. Both chambers of Congress will be controlled by the party for the first time in eight years, and the dynamic on Capitol Hill will certainly be different come January.
Many Members of Congress who have been long-time friends to seniors and those who have introduced key bills for The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) fared well in Tuesday’s elections. Rep. Peter DeFazio (OR-4) (sponsor of the CPI-E Act) won re-election, as did Rep. Linda Sanchez (CA-38) (sponsor of the Strengthening Social Security Act), Rep. Rodney Davis (IL-13) (sponsor of the Social Security Fairness Act), and Rep. Walter Jones (NC-3) (sponsor of the Social Security Guarantee Act).
TSCL looks forward to working with these veteran lawmakers, along with new Representatives and Senators, on the following issues in the 114th Congress:
• Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment – Ensure a fair, accurate, and guaranteed COLA.
• Social Security Notch Reform – Work towards benefit equality for Notch victims.
• Immigration Reform – Close a loophole that pays Social Security benefits based on illegal work, preventing a drain on the Social Security Trust Fund.
• Affordable Care Act – Monitor the continued implementation of the law as it affects older Americans.
• Doc Fix for Medicare Providers – Establish a permanent solution in order to bring greater stability to doctor reimbursements, ensuring continued access.
• Prevention of Fraud, Waste, and Abuse – Ensure that scarce Medicare and Social Security dollars are spent properly.
• Social Security Reform – Work for solutions that extend the Trust Fund’s solvency and strengthen the program without enacting harmful cuts.
• Medicare Reform – Protect beneficiaries from changes that would impose greater out-of-pocket costs to beneficiaries.
To view our full legislative agenda, click HERE, and to learn more about these issues listed above, click HERE.
