NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | August 7, 2015 | PAGE 7
Alliance for Retired Americans scores Congress in ‘14
U.S. Sens. Merkley and Wyden of Oregon,
Murray and Cantwell of Washington,
achieve perfect scores of 100 percent
By Michael Gutwig
Editor and Manager
WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senators
Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden of Oregon,
and Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell of
Washington, all Democrats, were among
49 members of the U.S. Senate to
achieve perfect scores of 100 percent on
the Alliance for Retired Americans
(ARA) political report for the year 2014.
In the U.S. House, Oregon Democrats
Suzanne Bonamici and Earl Blumenauer
were among 135 representatives to
achieve perfect scores in 2014.
ARA is a constituency group of the na-
tional AFL-CIO with a chapter in Port-
land, Oregon. The Alliance released its
annual report detailing the voting record
of every U.S. representative and senator
on issues they feel are important to cur-
rent and future retirees.
“This voting record reflects how com-
mitted our elected representatives are to
retirees and older Americans,” said ARA
Executive Director Richard Fiesta. “I
urge you to use it to educate yourself on
where your elected representatives stand
and share it with your friends and neigh-
bors.”
ARA looked at 10 key votes in both
the Senate and the House and assigned a
“Pro-Retiree” score for each member of
Congress. (See charts below.)
Thirty-four senators received zeroes
from ARA. Of those members of the
Senate who have declared their candi-
dacy for president, or who are reported
to be considering a run, Ted Cruz (R-
TX), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Rob Port-
man (R-OH), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and
Rand Paul (R-KY) scored zero, while
Bernie Sanders (I-VT) scored 100 per-
cent.
Another 122 representatives in the
House received scores of zero. Among
them was GOP presidential candidate
Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.
In Oregon, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-4th
Dist.) scored 90 percent; Rep. Kurt
Schrader (D-5th Dist.) scored 80 percent;
and Rep. Greg Walden (R-2nd Dist.),
scored 13 percent.
In Washington, Rep. Jamie Herrera
Beutler (R-3rd Dist.) scored 10 percent.
Alliance president Barbara J. Easter-
ling said the 113th Congress was the least
productive Congress, with the exception
SENATE VOTES
The following is a list of ten key votes selected as representative of the votes
of critical importance to retirees taken by the U.S. Senate:
1 Unemployment Insurance
The Senate voted to end debate on legislation introduced
by Senator Reed, D-RI, to extend emergency unemploy-
ment benefits. In 2014, 4.6% of workers 55 and over were
unemployed. Older job seekers have the longest bouts of
unemployment, an average duration of 11 months. The clo-
ture motion needing 60 votes failed 55-43. A YES vote is a
pro-retiree vote. S. 1845, Roll Call No. 24, February 6, 2014.
2 Debt Ceiling Increase
Senator Shaheen, D-NH, introduced a bill to raise the debt
ceiling through March 15, 2015, eliminating the chance of
default by the United States government. Without this raise,
Social Security benefits and Medicare payments could have
been halted. The bill passed 55-43. A YES vote is the pro-
retiree vote. S. 540, Roll Call No. 34, February 12, 2014.
3 Medicare Doctors Payments
The Senate passed a House bill to patch the Sustainable
Growth Rate (SGR) funding formula for Medicare physician
payments. The bill averted a 21 percent payment cut and
also extended the QI program, which helps low-income
Medicare beneficiaries pay their Part B premiums. The
bill passed 64-35. A YES vote is a pro-retiree vote. H.R.
4302, Roll Call No. 92, March 31, 2014.
6 Bring Jobs Home
The Senate voted on a motion to invoke cloture on the Bring
Jobs Home Act, introduced by Senator Reed, D-RI. This bill
would provide a business tax credit of up to 20% of insourc-
ing expenses to relocate business back in the U.S. and deny
tax deductions for outsourcing expenses. Bringing jobs back
to the U.S. would improve the nation’s economy. The clo-
ture motion needing 60 votes failed 54-42. A YES vote is a
pro-retiree vote. S. 2569, Roll Call No. 249, July 30, 2014.
7 Funding the Government
The Senate voted on a motion to waive budget rules and
pass the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of
2014, introduced by Senator Mikulski, D-MD. This legis-
lation funds the federal government and the waiver would
have curtailed cutting vital seniors programs. The motion
needing 60 votes failed 50-44. A YES vote is a pro-retiree
vote. S. 2648, Roll Call No. 252, July 31, 2014.
8 Social Security Advisory Board
The Senate voted to confirm presidential nominee Henry J.
Aaron to the Social Security Advisory Board. Aaron is a
respected economist and a long-time advocate for the Social
Security program. He was confirmed 54-43. A YES vote is
a pro-retiree vote. Roll Call No. 258, September 8, 2014.
4 Pay Equity
9 Social Security Commissioner
The Senate voted on a motion to proceed to the Paycheck
The Senate voted on a motion to proceed to the Carolyn
Fairness Act, introduced by Senator Mikulski, D-MD. It would
Watts Colvin nomination for Social Security Commissioner.
require that all differential pay be on the basis of non-dis-
The confirmation of a commissioner would give the agency
criminatory job-related business necessity. The bill would
permanent leadership as the Baby Boomer generation retires.
prohibit retaliation against employees for discussing or dis-
The motion needing 60 votes failed 52-41. A YES vote is a
closing an employee’s wage and enable class action suits,
pro-retiree vote. Roll Call No. 329, December 13, 2014.
and compensatory and punitive damages. Pay equity ensures
higher Social Security contributions, which increases Social
Surgeon General
Security benefits and extends trust fund solvency. The motion 10
The Senate voted on the confirmation of Dr. Vivek Hal-
needing 60 votes failed 53-44. A YES vote is a pro-retiree
legere Murthy for Surgeon General. The Surgeon General
vote. S. 2199, Roll Call No. 103, April 9, 2014.
advises the Assistant Secretary of Health on matters of pub-
lic health, including many issues affecting the health of older
5 Minimum Wage Raise
Americans. He was confirmed 51-43. A YES vote is a pro-
Senator Harkin, D-IA, introduced a bill to increase the
retiree vote. Roll Call No. 356, December 15, 2014.
federal minimum wage to $10.10 over three years and then
index increases to inflation. Raising the minimum wage
helps all workers, including older workers, and helps
improve the solvency of the Social Security trust fund through
increased contributions. A cloture motion needing 60 votes
on the bill failed 54-42. A YES vote is a pro-retiree vote.
S. 2223, Roll Call No. 117, April 30, 2014.
of the one that preceded it.
“In addition to the dysfunction, many
in Congress continued to attack our core
retiree programs of Social Security,
Medicare, and Medicaid as well as the
pro-retiree provisions of the 2010 Afford-
able Care Act.”
Easterling said raising the minimum
wage is part of the ARA voting record
because it would address income in-
equality, help many seniors who earn the
minimum wage, and improve Social Se-
curity’s overall finances.
Oregon Delegation
SENATE
HOUSE
HOUSE VOTES
The following is a list of ten key votes selected as representative of the votes
of critical importance to retirees taken by the U.S. House of Representatives:
1 Debt Ceiling
The House voted to raise the debt ceiling through March
15, 2015, eliminating the chance of default and ensuring
that the government could pay its financial obligations. In
the event that the debt ceiling was breached, Social Secu-
rity and Medicare payments could have been halted. The
bill passed 221-201. A YES vote is the pro-retiree vote. S.
540, Roll Call No. 61, February 11, 2014.
2 Cut Consumer Protections
The House passed legislation, introduced by Representa-
tive Duffy, R-WI, that would weaken the Consumer Finan-
cial Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) by curtailing the ability of
the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to enforce con-
sumer protections enacted after the financial crisis of 2007-
2008. The bill passed 232-182. A NO vote is a pro-retiree
vote. H.R. 3193, Roll Call No. 85, February 27, 2014.
3 Deregulation
The House passed the Unfunded Mandate Information and
Transparency Act of 2013 introduced by Rep. Foxx, R-
NC. The bill would give authority to the Congressional
Budget Office and Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs unprecedented powers to overturn protections in
areas such as public health, consumer protections, and drug
safety. The bill passed 234-176. A NO vote is a pro-retiree
vote. H.R. 899, Roll Call No. 90, February 28, 2014.
4 Protect Civil Rights
The House voted on an amendment by Representative Cony-
ers, D-MI, to the ENFORCE the Law Act of 2014. The under-
lying bill would allow either the House or Senate to overturn
President Obama’s executive orders. The Conyers amend-
ment would exempt all actions to combat discrimination
or to protect civil rights. The amendment failed 188-227.
A YES vote is a pro-retiree vote. H.R. 4138, Roll Call No.120,
March 12, 2014.
5 Health Care Repeal
The House included language to repeal the 2010 Afford-
able Care Act in a bill, introduced by Representative
Burgess, R- TX, to reform Medicare physician payments.
The 2010 law contains several pro-retiree provisions,
including the elimination of co-pays and deductibles for
preventive care screenings and an annual wellness checkup.
The law also included the closing of the Part D doughnut
hole drug coverage gap and the phasing out of overpay-
ments to Medicare Advantage plans.The bill passed 238-
181. A NO vote is the pro-retiree vote. H.R. 4015, Roll Call
No. 135, March 14, 2014.
6 Pro-Retiree Budget
The House voted on a budget plan by Rep. Van Hollen,
D-MD, as an alternative to the House Republican budget
resolution for Fiscal Year 2015. This alternative raises rev-
enues by closing tax loopholes for the wealthiest Ameri-
cans and produces Medicare savings by requiring
pharmaceutical companies to pay rebates for low-income
beneficiaries. The measure does not cut Social Security,
Medicare or Medicaid benefits. The amendment failed 163-
261. A YES vote is a pro-retiree vote. H. Con. Res. 96, Roll
Call No. 176, April 10, 2014.
7 Medicare Privatization
The House passed a budget resolution, introduced by Rep.
Ryan, R-WI, that replaces the guaranteed benefits of
Medicare with a privatized system. Under the Ryan plan,
Medicare would be privatized, voucher-like payments would
go to insurance companies and seniors would have signif-
icantly higher out of pocket costs. The resolution passed
219-205. A NO vote is the pro-retiree vote. H. Con.
Res. 96, Roll Call No. 177, April 10, 2014.
8 Senior Housing Cuts
Representative Chabot, R-OH, offered an amendment to the
Transportation HUD funding bill that cuts funding for Sec-
tion 8 housing assistance by $2.9 billion. Budget cuts and
sequestration have cut housing funding forcing many sen-
iors to live in inadequate, dangerous or substandard hous-
ing. The amendment failed 127-279. A NO vote is a
pro-retiree vote. H.R. 4745, Roll Call No. 274, June 9, 2014.
9 Tax Loopholes
The House passed a bill, introduced by Representative Tiberi,
R-OH, that would amend the tax code to make perma-
nent the accelerated depreciation loophole, and also exempt
resulting revenue losses from mandated pay as you go
requirements. Enacting more tax cuts will increase the deficit
and put pressure to reduce spending in other areas, includ-
ing programs vital to seniors. The bill passed 272-144. A
NO vote is a pro-retiree vote. H.R. 4457, Roll Call No. 309,
June 12, 2014.
10 Cut Health Care Coverage
The House passed a bill, introduced by Representative Camp,
R-MI, to change the minimum hours for health care cover-
age under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) from 30 hours to
40 hours. Economists estimate that the change would cre-
ate more part time workers and undermine the operation
of the ACA. The bill passed 253-163. A NO vote is a pro-
retiree vote. H.R. 4, Roll Call No. 513, September 18, 2014.