Kamala Harris and Tim Walz Joyfully Accept Nominations to be President, Vice President

Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz accepted the Democratic party’s nomination to be President and Vice President at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week, locking in place a ticket that promises to strengthen and protect seniors’ hard earned Social Security and Medicare benefits, continue lowering prescription drug prices, and build on the Affordable Care Act to provide more affordable health care.

During his acceptance speech Wednesday night, Governor Walz described his family’s reliance on Social Security benefits to make ends meet following the death of his father when he was 19,

underscoring the importance of the earned benefit program to millions of Americans. On Thursday night, Vice President Harris drew a sharp contrast between her plans to protect Social Security and Medicare and the threat of Donald Trump cutting the programs.

“Retirees could not be more excited about this election following the convention,” said Robert Roach, Jr., President of the Alliance. “The message of protecting seniors’ economic and health care interests, delivered with a tone of joy and love, absolutely resonate at this moment in our history.”

Democratic National Convention Features Labor Leaders, Includes Discussion of Key Seniors Issues

Conventioneers honored President Joe Biden for his service to the nation before he spoke on Monday night, echoing the admiration the Alliance offered in a statement in July, when President Roach declared, “He is a great American who is putting our country before himself. We need more American leaders who put patriotism and service to others first.”

Liz Shuler, President of the AFL-CIO, and fellow labor leaders Brent Booker, General President of LiUNA; Kenneth Cooper, International President of IBEW; Claude Cummings, Jr., President of CWA; Lee Saunders, President of AFSCME; and April Verrett, President of SEIU, also addressed the convention together on the first night.

In addition, UAW President Shawn Fain spoke on Monday and AFGE National President Everett Kelly, NEA president Becky Pringle and AFT President Randi Weingarten spoke on Thursday.

President Shuler with Alliance Executive Director Richard Fiesta in Chicago this week

President Shuler called Donald Trump’s plans “a CEO’s dream, but a worker’s nightmare.”

On Tuesday night, Ken Stribling, a retired Teamster and President of the National United Committee to Protect Pensions (NUCPP), thanked the Biden-Harris Administration for passing the American Rescue Plan, including the Butch Lewis Act, to save over one million pensions. Last year the Alliance and the NUCPP Board of Directors announced a partnership to address the nation’s retirement security crisis.

“Unions had a tremendous presence at the convention, and that was no accident,” said Joseph Peters, Jr., Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance. “Vice President Harris has already had a career as a champion for Labor. I know that as President, she will continue to defend our pensions, strengthen our freedom to organize and oversee an economy with even more high-paying union jobs.”

Poll of Older Voters in Six Battleground States Shows Tight Race Between Harris and Trump

A new poll of likely voters ages 65 and up, conducted on behalf of Retired Americans PAC, the Alliance’s independent political arm, shows Vice President Harris and former President Trump in an extremely close race to win the pivotal senior vote in six of the most contested battleground states.

Harris holds 47% of the total senior vote in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, while Donald Trump is supported by 49%. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has just 3 percent of the senior vote in those states.

Four years ago, national exit polls found that voters over 65 voted for Trump over Biden by 5%. In each of these states, voters over the age of 65 comprise at least 23% of the electorate.

When asked which party would be best at handling key issues, the poll found that Democrats held a slim 2% advantage on Social Security and Medicare. On prescription drug costs, Democrats held an 8% advantage over Republicans. However, Republicans held an advantage over Democrats on the issues of inflation, at 9%, and immigration, 18%.

“Vice President Harris’ strong showing in the survey with a group that went for Trump four years ago is encouraging,” said Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance and Treasurer of the Retired Americans PAC. “There are stark differences between the two parties on the future of Social Security, Medicare, and prescription drugs – it’s incumbent on Democrats to communicate that they will strengthen and protect these programs, not privatize or cut them.”

The poll of 1,200 likely voters ages 65 and up in the November general election was conducted by GBAO between July 23-30, 2024, in AZ, GA, MI, NV, PA and WI on behalf of Retired Americans PAC.

Harris led Trump among seniors by 3 percentage points in Arizona (49%-46%) and Michigan (50%-47%) and by 4 in Wisconsin (49%-45%). Trump led by 3 in Nevada (48%-45%), by 6 in Pennsylvania (51%-45%) and by 12 in Georgia (55%-43%).

Complete results and charts are available here.

AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer and Alliance Executive Vice President Fred Redmond spoke about the importance of the Alliance’s work to

protect earned pensions, strengthen Social Security and Medicare, and elect pro-retiree Democrats at an Alliance event to release the poll results on Tuesday at the Democratic National Convention. Illinois Alliance member Bea Lumpkin, who is 106 years old, welcomed the audience to Chicago and encouraged the many activists in attendance to continue to fight to improve the lives of working and older Americans.

Ms. Lumpkin with Secretary-Treasurer Redmond Tuesday

KFF Health News: New Lines of Attack Form Against the Affordable Care Act

By Julie Appleby

The Affordable Care Act is back under attack. Not as in the repeal-and-replace debates of yore, but in a fresher take from Republican lawmakers who say key parts of the ACA cost taxpayers too much and provide incentive for fraud.

Several House Republican leaders have called on two watchdog agencies to investigate, while Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) fired off more than half a dozen questions in a recent letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

At issue are the ACA’s enhanced subsidies, put in place during the covid-19 pandemic as part of economic recovery legislation. Grassley said in a recent news release that the subsidies “left Obamacare, a program already riddled with problems, wide open to new waste, fraud and abuse.”