Texas Legislature Sends Anti-Democratic Voting Legislation to Governor Abbott for Signature

Governor Greg Abbott (TX) plans to sign into law legislation in Texas that limits early voting hours, cuts local options for casting ballots, restricts mail-in voting, and allows partisan poll watchers unprecedented access to polling places. Each of these provisions is designed to prevent Texas voters -- particularly voters of color -- from casting a ballot.

The new bill’s restrictions tighten what are already some of America’s most restrictive voting rules, with elected officials and voting rights experts noting that the bill’s provisions could specifically target people of color.

“This legislation is part of a dangerous, coordinated national campaign to keep millions of Americans from voting,” said Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance. “Our members are united in the belief that we should be making it easier for voters to cast a ballot, not more difficult.”

Action Needed: Sign the Labor Day Petition Calling for Passage of the PRO Act

As Labor Day weekend begins, a new Gallup Poll found that sixty-eight percent of Americans approve of unions. Gallup says this is the highest approval level for unions since 1965, when 71% of Americans said they approved.

Despite this, and other surveys showing that nearly half of American workers would like to join a union if they had the

opportunity, outdated labor laws have made it hard for workers to form or join a union to secure better wages, a more secure retirement and have a voice in the workplace.

The Alliance and its allies strongly support the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which has already been passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. The PRO Act is the most significant worker empowerment legislation in generations. It would:

Empower workers to form unions and bargain over wages and work conditions;
Hold corporations accountable for union-busting; and
Repeal “right to work” laws.

We need the Senate to pass the PRO Act. Please click here and add your name to our petition today!

“We need unions and the PRO Act more than ever,” said Joseph Peters, Jr., Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance. “Please sign our petition and have a happy and safe Labor Day.”

Social Security’s Finances Remain Strong, Annual Trustees Reports Show

The Trustees for the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds released their annual reports on the programs on Tuesday. The reports show that Social Security remains strong and solvent with enough money to cover all payouts and expenses until 2034, while the Medicare Part A Trust Fund for hospital care now has sufficient funds to cover its obligations until 2026.

In a news release responding to the report, Mr. Fiesta said that the best way to strengthen Social Security is to lift the cap on earnings subject to the 6.2% payroll tax, which is currently $142,800. If Congress removes this cap on contributions by the wealthiest Americans, Social Security benefits can be expanded and the program can be strengthened for the future.

Mr. Fiesta also noted that Congress and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services could save billions of dollars each year by holding insurance corporations providing Medicare Advantage Plans accountable. “These wealthy corporations made commitments to deliver health care services at a lower cost per beneficiary than traditional Medicare. Their failure to do so cost the Medicare Trust Fund $7 billion in 2018 alone.”

The Trustees noted that Medicare Part D prescription drug costs continue to increase faster than the rate of inflation, leading Fiesta to reiterate that Americans pay the highest prices in the world and Congress must act now to lower those costs. He called again for allowing Medicare to negotiate lower prices for consumers and taxpayers, and then pivoted to the TRUST Act.

“It’s critical to strengthen Medicare and Social Security without breaking the sacred promise made to current and future retirees,” Fiesta stated. “The TRUST Act, S. 1295 and H.R. 2575, introduced by Sen. Mitt Romney (UT) and Rep. Mike Gallagher (WI), which some in Congress have suggested incorporating into legislation to raise the debt ceiling, paves the way for cuts to both of these earned benefit programs.”

“Congress must not hide behind special committees and closed doors, without public input, while it determines the future of Social Security and Medicare,” said Robert Roach, Jr., President of the Alliance, in reference to the TRUST Act. “Any changes that Congress makes to the benefits Americans have earned after a lifetime of hard work should be discussed and debated openly, so the public knows where their elected officials stand.”

KHN: Apple, Bose and Others Pump Up the Volume on Hearing Aid Options, Filling Void Left by FDA

By Phil Galewitz, Kaiser Health News

Spurred by decades of complaints about the high cost of hearing aids, Congress passed a law in 2017 to allow over-the-counter sales, with hopes it would boost competition and lower prices.

Four years later, federal regulators have yet to issue rules to implement the law. But changes in the industry are offering consumers relief.

In August 2017, President Donald Trump signed the legislation that called for the Food and Drug Administration to issue regulations by 2020 for hearing aids that could be sold in stores without a prescription or a visit to an audiologist or other hearing specialist. That hasn’t happened yet, and President Joe Biden last month ordered the FDA to produce those rules for over-the-counter (OTC) purchases by mid-November. That means it will likely take at least until next summer for consumers to feel the direct effects of the law.

Despite the delay, consumers’ options have expanded with more hearing devices entering the market, alternative ways to get them and lower prices, particularly for the largest segment of the population with impaired hearing — those with mild to moderate hearing loss, for whom the law was intended.