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Insider’s Report: Legislation critical to older Americans continues to hang in the balance
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Over the past several weeks, Congress has faced a number of fiscal deadlines and must-pass legislative priorities for the American people. At the center of each of these battles has been two U.S. Senators who hold a lot of power to steer the outcome of legislation one way or the other.
And once again, U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (AZ) possess the make-or-break votes to protect the voting rights of older Americans.
Next year’s mid-term elections may be a little more than a year away but already there is a pervasive and insidious effort underway to restrict ballot access. And that could have a devastating impact on millions of older Americans who use the option of voting by mail.
Eighteen states have enacted laws restricting ballot access. Fortunately, there is new federal voting rights legislation, called the “For the People Act” (H.R. 1/S. 1), that would prevent states from passing onerous laws making it harder for older Americans and other vulnerable groups to vote in a safe and convenient way.
For this critical legislation to pass, we need Senators Manchin and Sinema to support a narrow change to the filibuster rule — which requires 60 members to end debate on most topics and move to a vote — to allow the Senate to approve new voting rights legislation by a simple majority vote.
The sole purpose of restrictive, new state laws is to suppress votes that the majority party in these legislatures don’t like. With so much at stake, the National Committee is urging Senators Manchin and Sinema to act now to protect American voters from being disenfranchised — including millions of seniors who otherwise can’t safely make it to the polls.
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| Good Bills |
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The National Committee has sent letters to Senators Joe Manchin (WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (AZ) urging them to support a narrow change to the filibuster rule that would allow the Senate to approve S. 1, the “For the People Act,” by a simple majority. The “For the People Act,” which has already passed in the House of Representatives, contains a set of national mail-in voting standards, guaranteeing no-excuse mail-in voting.
The act requires states to give every voter the option to vote by mail, and it calls for prepaid postage for all election materials and state-provided drop boxes for federal races. This guarantee will provide seniors with the assurance that they will be able to participate in future elections. Learn more about the importance of mail-in ballots for older Americans.
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Our resident Social Security expert, Webster Phillips — a Senior Policy Analyst for the National Committee and a 31-year veteran at the Social Security Administration — is here to answer your questions about Social Security.
You can either search our archives for valuable advice on a broad range of concerns or submit your question here.
This week's question is: I’m 5 years older than my wife. We’re both still working and planning to continue for 3 or 4 more years. I’ve worked continuously and have a higher income. I want to ensure my wife receives the largest monthly payment if I die before we both reach 70. If I never claim, could she claim my “70-year-old” benefit when she reaches 70?
Click here to read the answer.
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