Press Releases
June 05, 2017
Press Release: 2016 Retiree Voting Record Released
President Roach: “We clearly need changes in our leadership”
Washington, DC – The Alliance for Retired Americans today released its 2016 voting record report which scored every U.S. Representative and Senator on issues affecting current and future retirees. The Alliance’s voting record is produced each year. The 2017 report examined 10 key Senate and House votes in 2016, showing the roll calls on issues such as:
- attacks on core earned benefits programs: Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid;
- health care policy, including repealing the individual and employer mandates, expanding Medicaid, and offering tax subsidies that help older Americans aged 50-64 purchase health insurance on the Affordable Care Act exchanges; and
- tax breaks for higher income Americans and tax increases for lower-income and middle class families
“The record of the Republican Senate leadership is particularly bad on retiree issues. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY), Majority Whip John Cornyn (TX), Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch (UT) and Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi (WY) together took 40 votes on senior issues. Only 2 votes could be considered pro-retiree,” said Robert Roach, Jr., President of the Alliance. “We clearly need changes in our leadership in Washington.”
Forty members of the U.S. Senate achieved perfect scores of 100 percent in 2016, while another 12 received zeroes. In the U.S. House of Representatives, 176 members received perfect scores of 100 percent in 2016 while 233 received scores of zero.
Among the House of Representatives leadership — including Speaker Paul Ryan (WI), Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA), and Majority Whip Steve Scalise (LA) — none cast even a single pro-retiree vote. Similarly former Rep. Tom Price (GA) scored 0% last year before becoming Secretary of Health and Human Services. Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney (SC) also scored 0% before joining the White House.
“The Voting Record shows how committed each member of Congress is to the needs of older Americans,” President Roach said. “It helps us to know who is, and isn’t, on our side.”
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Most greedy , moral-less non empathic evil republican congress ever. I’m totally disgusted . I guess they don’t care if seniors ( or anyone really) die from lack of money, food , medicine, or medical care . What a nasty bunch.
You have to be a. real idiot to vote republican and think they will make things better for you.
I’ve never really disliked the Republican party as much as I do the current bunch serving in Congress now. Hateful mean people this bunch is.
The repuglicans don’t care at all about any of their constituents; they only care about the Koch Brothers or the other guy who buys them off; they’re all a bunch of greedy bastards. AND I voted republican in 2016; if they try to take away our SSA or Medicare or Medicaid, that’ll be proof that they are Satan’s workers.