Protecting Social Security 

Dear John,

Last week, I spent time with a great group of seniors over at United Neighborhood Center's Oppenheim Healthy Aging Campus in West Scranton to observe the 87th anniversary of Social Security. 

For generations, Social Security has been a sacred promise to our seniors who have earned their retirement through decades of hard work. I know how much families in our region rely on this vital program, which is why I am committed to protecting and enhancing it. 

Sadly, protecting Social Security has become a partisan issue. Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida has actually proposed a five-year “sunset” for both Social Security and Medicare, which could kill both programs.

That’s a dangerous idea and another reason why I cosponsored The Social Security 2100 Act. This important legislation provides a benefit bump to beneficiaries to make up for cost-of-living adjustments that haven’t been updated since 1972.

It also adds a caregiver credit so that people – mainly women – who take time out of the workforce to care for children or other loved ones aren’t penalized when the time comes to retire.  

Other highlights of The Social Security 2100 Act include:

•  Repealing provisions that reduce Social Security benefits for public servants, including teachers.
• Protecting benefits for widowers in two income households so they are no longer penalized.
• Ending the 5-month waiting period for disability benefits so those diagnosed with severe disabilities - like terminal cancer - no longer have to wait.
• Increasing access to benefits for children who live with their grandparents or other relatives. 

These Social Security enhancements will be fully paid for by requiring wealthy Americans to pay the same Social Security rate as the rest of us on their very high incomes.

It’s time to vote for a plan to bolster Social Security. I’m working hard to deliver a victory for Northeast Pennsylvanians. 

GE's Next-Generation Technology 

U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY) and I were invited to tour the Niskayuna headquarters of GE Research to learn about the future of aviation.

We were impressed after witnessing the work being done in areas such as hybrid-electric aircraft propulsion and hydrogen-fueled engines that will transport people from place to place without creating pollution.

Reducing carbon emissions and accelerating new technology across many sectors - not just transportation - is the goal of multiple rounds of legislation passed in the last 12 months, from the infrastructure bill last fall to the computer chip legislation earlier this summer to The Inflation Reduction Act signed into law earlier this month.

You can read more about our tour and GE's upcoming plans here.

For too many in our region, the cost of hearing aids and the trip to the doctor to get a prescription are too expensive. 

A new ruling issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will soon change all that. 

The FDA's recent action now establishes a new category of over-the-counter hearing aids, enabling consumers with mild to moderate hearing impairment to buy hearing aids directly from stores or online retailers without the need for a medical exam, prescription or a fitting adjustment by an audiologist. 

This latest action will lower the price of a pair of hearing aids by nearly $3,000. You’ll see them in stores as early as mid-October.

For more information on this latest effort to lower medical costs for Americans, click here. 

Hope you are all enjoying these last days of summer. 

Be safe and well,