Alliance Enthusiastically Endorses Joe Biden for President During Virtual Rally with Dr. Jill Biden

Citing confidence in Vice President Biden’s commitment to retirement security for every American, the Alliance publicly endorsed Joe Biden for President with great fanfare today. The announcement came during a special virtual rally with Jill Biden and thousands of seniors that was timed to coincide with the 85th anniversary of the Social Security Act becoming law.

Also at the rally were Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL), actor Louis Gossett Jr., Alliance President Robert Roach, Jr. and three Alliance members with personal stories to share: Donesa Jackson, Central Florida vice president for the Florida Alliance; Gary Mitchell, state president of the Wisconsin Alliance; and Henry Trejo, Arizona Alliance vice president. 

"We are so grateful to have the support of the members of the Alliance for Retired Americans,” said Dr. Biden. “After a lifetime of hard work, your members’ activism is inspiring and so needed. And we’re going to need every one of your members to help us win this campaign."

“Older Americans can trust Joe Biden because we know Joe, and he has always fought for seniors,” said President Roach. “He will strengthen and expand Social Security and Medicare, 

and protect the pension benefits we have earned.”

“Vice President Biden will not just protect Medicare, but he will put Medicare to work negotiating lower drug prices for seniors and the American public,” President Roach continued. “Our members also welcome the Biden caregiving plan. It fills a critical gap in senior health care, will help older people stay in their homes and creates new jobs in the process.”

Vice President Biden and his running mate, Senator Kamala Harris (CA), both have strong pro-retiree records. As a senator Joe Biden earned a 96% lifetime pro-retiree score in the Alliance’s annual Congressional Voting Record. Senator Harris has earned a 100% lifetime pro-retiree score.

Alliance Members from Florida to Alaska Mark Social Security’s 85th Anniversary

Alliance members commemorated the 85th anniversary of Social Security on Friday with nationwide virtual events and discussed Joe Biden’s plans to protect and expand Social Security as President.

“President Trump has vowed to terminate Social Security funding if he is re-elected,” said Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance. “Retirees must fight to preserve it, expand it and make sure it is here for our grandchildren, as former Vice President Biden has laid out in his plan.”

Virtual events took place from Florida to Alaska, amplifying the message by highlighting Social Security’s success as a bedrock of retirement security.

Reps. Alcee Hastings and Kathy Castor joined Executive Director Fiesta for a Florida Alliance event today on Zoom. Reps. Brendan Boyle, Matt Cartright, and Michael Doyle of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Alliance member Jody Weinreich focused on the details of the serious threat posed by President Trump’s Executive Order that cuts the payroll taxes funding Social Security and could terminate the program if Trump is reelected. Other events included another virtual discussion in Florida featuring former Sen. Bill Nelson, Reps. Al Lawson and Lois Frankel and Florida Alliance Recording Secretary Barbara DeVane, and a Minnesota Alliance event that included Rep. Angie Craig and state president Michael Madden.

Earlier events this week have included a conversation with Rep. Mark Pocan hosted by the Wisconsin Alliance and a North Carolina Alliance event. The Nevada Alliance is also holding a Social Security virtual event today, and next week Massachusetts Alliance members will 

continue to make the case for expanding, rather than gutting, the program.

Also, the Alaska Alliance created a must-watch video featuring president Susan Reilly, who filmed herself whipping up a special anniversary cake! You can view it on the Alaska Alliance Facebook page.

President Trump Can’t Stop Talking About His Plans to Cut Social Security

On Saturday, President Trump signed an executive order that eliminates Social Security’s dedicated funding source until the end of 2020. He then vowed to eliminate the payroll tax altogether if re-elected -- which would kill Social Security in a matter of years.

“Donald Trump has said over and over again this year that he wants to cut Social Security and Medicare,” said Joseph Peters, Jr., Secretary-Treasurer. “It’s past time to believe him in this case.”

President Trump has spoken about his desire to cut Social Security and Medicare on television at least three times in 2020. Watch this January 22 interview in Davos, Switzerland on CNBC; and see the March 5 Fox News national Town Hall and an August 8 news conference in Bedminster, New Jersey.

Alliance Scores Victory for Pennsylvania Voters

In a significant development in the fight to protect the civil rights and health of millions of older Pennsylvania voters, Secretary of the Commonwealth Kathy Boockvar has withdrawn her objection to extending the November 3 election day deadline by which mail ballots must be received. She has asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to issue an order to count all ballots that arrive within three days after November 3.

“The Secretary today recognized that Pennsylvania voters should be able to vote by mail and know that their ballot will be counted,” said Executive Director Fiesta. “This is especially critical for the two million Pennsylvania voters who are over the age of 65 and whose health is most at risk during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The case, Crossey v. Boockvar, filed on April 22, 2020 originally in Commonwealth Court, includes four Pennsylvania Alliance for Retired Americana member plaintiffs: Michael Crossey, Dwayne Thomas, Irwin Weinreich, and Brenda (Jody) Weinreich.  

On Monday, the North Carolina Alliance for Retired Americans filed a lawsuit in the North Carolina Superior Court to protect the rights of older North Carolina voters during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Alliance was joined in the suit by seven individual plaintiffs. The defendants are the State of North Carolina, the North Carolina State Board of Elections and Damon Circosta, Chair of the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

The lawsuit alleges that the State of North Carolina’s vote by mail requirements are burdensome and will force older voters to choose between protecting their health or casting a ballot they know will be counted.

The Alliance, working with its state chapters, has filed lawsuits to protect vote by mail and absentee voters in Florida, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Texas, and Wisconsin in addition to North Carolina and Pennsylvania this year, with support from Priorities USA.

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