Seniors Task Force

Floor Speech

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Ms. RICHARDSON. First of all, I would like to acknowledge the co-chairs of our senior task force--Ms. Schakowsky and Ms. Matsui. The work that we have been able to do in such a short period of time is amazing.

Of course, to Ms. Speier from California, my neighboring home State, I thank her for organizing this hour that we have today.

You know, seniors are the fastest growing segment of our population. Every year, as more and more of the baby boomer generation retires, the number of seniors in our country grows considerably. Currently, one in every eight people in the United States is an older American. Over the next decade, the number of older Americans will increase by 36 percent. That's 5.5 million people. In my district alone, there are over 52,000 seniors. Older Americans are living longer and more active lives. Yet with older ages and longer lives, there come new challenges for us in Congress and in State and local governments to meet. Regardless of our ages or our generations, we have a responsibility to look out for our senior Americans just as our children and grandchildren will hopefully do for us one day.

Last week, I had the pleasure of hosting a 37th Congressional District annual senior briefing. We had over 1,032 seniors. It was pretty amazing to be there and to see everyone coming in, excited to be there. Well, what I want to say is that it was really interesting to me: two-thirds of those individuals drove. Two-thirds of those individuals had computers.

So, when we talk about seniors, it's not the end of the road. In fact, for many--and thankfully so--there are many, many good quality years ahead. What we have the ability to do on this task force is to ensure that they can have good quality lives and will not just simply stay at home, not really able to be productive.

When we had our senior briefing, the seniors were excited, and they were in great spirits. We had a full agenda; and the biggest thing that we talked about, which we spent half of our time on, was understanding the health care bill that this Congress just recently passed and how it benefits them.

The other things, though, that were unfortunate that I learned in that meeting were some of the troubles that some of my seniors were having--trouble staying financially secure in the midst of this recession. Ms. Speier talked about what has happened with the actions of Wall Street. Number two, obtaining jobs. Number three, finding affordable housing. For many seniors, they are downsizing and moving into other situations. For the amount of money that they have coming in, it cannot meet the cost of housing today. Finally, we talked about their getting quality health care.

A 2009 study revealed that in California, the State that I come from, over 500,000 seniors are living single and are having a difficult time making ends meet, let alone enjoying their quality of life.

As we move forward to continue addressing the needs of senior citizens, I am proud to be a member of this newly established seniors' task force. We are committed to preserving the rights, as has been talked about so far this evening, and in promoting the interests of America's senior citizens. The seniors' task force will be an excellent vehicle to ensure that the government is working for our seniors and for some of us, if we are so blessed to be, who will be coming forward as well.

At the task force opening press conference last week, we unveiled the senior bill of rights as has been shown. This resolution is an expression of what seniors who have worked most of their lives to make this country a better place deserve in return. There are just a few things:

One, financial security and stability. Two, quality and affordable health and long-term care. Three, protection from abuse, scams, and exploitation. We heard some examples of those this evening. Four, a stronger economy now and for future generations. Five, for a safe, livable community with safe transportation options.

This Congress has recognized the needs of seniors, and we have taken it on straight, without hesitation, that swift and bold action is needed.

In the very first days that Congress was in session for this particular 111th Congress, we passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, also known as the Recovery Act, and many seniors included in that received $250 that was to go towards helping to cover the costs, the rising costs, that many of our seniors are facing.

But then we took another action just about a month or so ago, and that was concerning health care reform. This Congress, this Democratic Congress, took the leadership, without much other assistance except by our help from the administration, to make sure that we could pass health care reforms that would dramatically increase the quality and the affordability of care that our seniors would face.

The health care reform that we did over the next few years will help close the Medicare doughnut hole that keeps many seniors from getting the prescription drugs that they desperately need. The average senior will save $250 in 2010, $750 in 2011, and over $3,000 in 2020 on prescription drugs.

However, one need that we know is also being overlooked and I have been trying to take some leadership on is the fact that many of our seniors are still working; some because they want to, because they have the ability to and there is much left to contribute, but others because they have to.

These economic woes that our seniors are facing are based upon many factors. Over 40 percent of the seniors in my district rely upon Social Security as their only source of income. I know many seniors who are pinching pennies simply to eat. This isn't acceptable. In fact, it is not even American. There are many seniors in my district who need to continue to work in jobs in order to maintain financial security.

The ongoing economic downturn, which Wall Street greatly, in fact, caused, that national economy that has now adversely affected millions of workers in various age groups has disproportionately burdened workers over the age of 55. Older Americans are experiencing difficult times, and only 55 percent of the jobless older workers have been there long enough to be able to have an extended tenure beyond January of 2008, compared to 72.6 percent of those in the age group of 25-54. A larger share of jobless older workers were paid lower wages in their new full-time jobs, compared to people who are in the age group of 25-54.

We have a responsibility. We have a duty to provide employment opportunities to senior citizens, who still have much to contribute. So I brought forward a bill to add to the great Senior Bill of Rights that we have brought forward, which is H.R. 4819, Expanding the Opportunities for Older Americans Act of 2010.

This bill responds to the need of senior citizen employment opportunities. It will expand senior employment programs for older Americans and create 40,000 new jobs. This bill will also lower the eligibility age for participating members of our society, and it will also eliminate some of the requirements that work against seniors. For example if a senior happens to be married and their spouse is working, many of the current programs that other spouse is not able to take advantage of, and that is wrong.

We must ensure that seniors have financial security and that this economy works for them. We must uphold our end of the bargain to our seniors, who have sacrificed and dedicated so much to this country throughout their lives.

I urge all of my colleagues to join us in this Senior Task Force, not only tonight, when we have started the discussion, but as we move forward the Senior Bill of Rights and many other pieces of legislation that will make a difference.

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