Initial List Of Members Of Congress Joining July 2nd Human Chain Events Is Revealed

Politicians continue to Press for the Chained CPI Cut to Social Security Benefits as a Way to Reduce the Deficit.  However, an Average Earner Retiring at Age 65 would Lose More Than $6,000 over 15 years if the Chained CPI were Adopted.  On Tuesday July 2nd, the Alliance For Retired Americans is Mobilizing People in more than 40 Cities across the United States to Form a Human Chain against the Chained CPI.  This National Day of Action will Showcase the Broad Base of Americans who Support Protecting and Enhancing Retirement Security, not Dismantling Social Security Inch By Inch.  Members of the U.S. Senate and House who are planning to join the July 2nd Events are: Senators Kay Hagan in Raleigh, North Carolina; Tom Harkin in Des Moines, Iowa; and Sheldon Whitehouse in Providence, Rhode Island; as well as U.S. Representatives Jim Langevin (Rhode Island), also in Providence; Michelle Lujan Grisham in Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Maxine Waters in Los Angeles.  To find an Event near you, go to http://tinyurl.com/ndah9ea.  To view the Alliance Web Page for July 2nd, which includes both a Map and a Link to find an Event, go to http://tinyurl.com/pd8pbsz.  To join the Events over Facebook, and Invite your Friends to do the same, go to http://on.fb.me/13QpMbH.

103 House Members, 20 Senators Co-Sponsor Resolutions Rejecting Chained CPI

103 Members of the U.S House have Co-Sponsored H. Con. Res. 34, the House Resolution Rejecting the Chained CPI that was introduced by U.S. Representative Cicilline (Democrat-Rhode Island).  To see who those co-sponsors are (as of June 17), go to http://tinyurl.com/ob7yqed.  In addition, 20 U.S. Senators have now Co-Sponsored S. Con. Res. 15, a Senate Resolution introduced by Senators Harkin (Democrat-Indiana), Bernie Sanders (Independent-Vermont) and Whitehouse (Democrat-Rhode Island), Rejecting the Chained CPI.  To see that list of Co-Sponsors as of June 17th, go to http://tinyurl.com/o4465ot. The Resolutions Express the Sense of Congress that the Chained Consumer Price Index should Not Be Used to Calculate Cost of Living Adjustments for Social Security.  “Alliance Members have been Instrumental in Drumming Up Support for Additional Co-Sponsors, and we ‘Thank You’ for that,” Alliance President Barbara Easterling said.

Help U.S Senator Bernie Sanders Address Poverty Among Seniors

Last month, U.S. Senator Sanders, who serves as the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging of the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, introduced S. 1028 - the Older Americans Act (OAA) Amendments of 2013.  This Legislation would Reauthorize and Strengthen the OAA, which supports Meals on Wheels and other Critical Programs for Seniors.  Last week, Sanders held a Hearing to Discuss the Role of the OAA in Addressing Poverty and Hunger among Seniors.  The Hearing took place as the HELP Committee attempts to Pass the Reauthorization of the OAA before the August Recess.  The HELP Committee is marking up S. 1028, now Co-Sponsored by 17 Senators in the coming weeks. Contact your Senators, especially those on the HELP Committee (http://www.help.senate.gov), to Share your Support of S. 1028 as it moves through the Committee. To read Senator Sanders’ Related Piece this week in Politico: Keep Meals on Wheels Going, go to http://tinyurl.com/o9q2neu.

Generic Drugs, Consumers Win In Supreme Court Ruling

Last week, the Supreme Court sided with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in a Case Challenging Pay-For-Delay and other Payment Agreements that Pharmaceutical Companies make with Rival Companies to Keep Cheaper Generic Versions of Drugs off the Market.  The Court ruled Regulators can Challenge Deals between Brand-Name Drug Companies and Generic Rivals that Delay Cheaper Medicines from Going on Sale, which can Increase Costs to Consumers by billions of dollars.  However, the Court's 5-to-3 Vote Denied the FTC's Request to declare Pay-For-Delay Deals Illegal.  The Case centered around Drug Company Solvay's Agreement with Four Generic Companies to Suspend Sales of the Generic Versions of Androgel, a Gel for Men with Low Testosterone.  For more information, read a New York Times article here: http://nyti.ms/19VYRQy.  “Seniors and Consumers should Celebrate the Decision,” said Alliance Secretary-Treasurer Ruben Burks said. “However, while it’s Great that Regulators can Challenge these ‘Unholy Deals’ to Keep Generic Drugs Off The Market, it would have been ‘Even Better’ if the Deals had been Ruled ‘Illegal’ altogether.”

ACLU Of Indiana Files Suit To Keep Seniors And The Disabled In Their Homes

Last week, the ACLU of Indiana filed a Suit against the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA), saying that Changes to the Medicaid Waiver program put Hoosiers “at Grave Risk of Immediate and Irreparable Harm.”  The Suit Challenges the Way in which the Agency Operates Two of its Medicaid Waiver Programs: the Community Integration and Habilitation Waiver (CIH) and the Aged and Disabled Waiver (A&D).  The Programs serve thousands of Hoosiers, offering Services that Enable People to Live in their Communities even though their Disabling Conditions would Otherwise Require that they be Institutionalized.  To read more on this story, go to http://tinyurl.com/qc7a86r.  “I am glad the ACLU Filed this Case,” Indiana Alliance President Elmer Blankenship said. “People in Indiana who ‘Could’ and ‘Should’ be Living at Home are being Placed in Institutions.”

Did You Know?…The Average Age at which current U.S. Retirees say they Actually Retired is now 61, up from 59 a decade ago and 57 in the early 1990s.  Conversely, 37% of Non-Retirees Expect to Retire after Age 65, up from 14% in 1995 (http://tinyurl.com/cmzysvf).