All posts by rebecca

Nursing Home Staff Shortage Worsens as the Pandemic Continues

Staff members of nursing homes across the country continue to quit in droves as a result of low wages and poor working conditions during the pandemic. Poor working conditions and lack of COVID-19 protections in long term care facilities have pushed many staffers to retire earl... Read more

Key Senator Still Pushing for Legislation to Lower Drug Prices

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (OR) told Bloomberg News this week that a new version of the Build Back Better Act could be reintroduced with a focus on lowering prescription drug costs, expanding access to health care and increasing clean energy tax credits. The prev... Read more

Alliance Takes More Action to Protect Voting Rights

The Alliance called on the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) on Thursday to stop permitting state elections offices to require that people provide their full Social Security numbers when submitting a voter registration form, explaining in a public comment letter that such... Read more

Free COVID-19 Test Kits are Now Available from the U.S. Postal Service

Covidtests.gov, a new website from the federal government, launched on Wednesday to provide free COVID-19 test kits to every American household. Each household is eligible to order up to four tests, completely free of charge, at https://special.usps.com/testkits. The tests can... Read more

Supreme Court Decision Upholds Vaccine Rule for Most Nursing Home, Health Care Workers

In a 6-3 decision last week, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked a U.S. Department of Labor emergency rule that would have required all businesses with 100 or more employees to be vaccinated for COVID-19 or be tested weekly. At the same time, in a 5-4 decision, the Court upheld a r... Read more

Democrats Urge Scaled-Back Build Back Better Act

Democrats in the House of Representatives continue to explore every possible avenue to pass a version of President Biden’s Build Back Better Act this year. After the $2.2 trillion Build Back Better Act passed the House back with multiple provisions to lower drug prices and o... Read more

Historic Voting Rights Legislation, Filibuster Reform Fail to Pass in the U.S. Senate

The U.S. Senate had the power on Wednesday to protect the right to vote by passing the “Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act.” However, the historic measure failed on a 50-50 Senate vote, since 60 votes were needed for it to pass. No Republicans voted for it. Senate Majority... Read more

Pension Plans Offer Substantial Cost Advantages Over 401(k) Retirement Accounts

A new research report from the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) has uncovered a surprising difference between defined-benefit pension plans and 401(k) style defined-contribution pension plans. The report found that pension plans provide retirement benefits at near... Read more

Voting Rights Push Hits a Major Hurdle following Speech by Sen. Sinema

President Biden spoke in Atlanta Tuesday, painting a dire picture for the nation's future elections during a major speech on voting rights while expressing his frustration at Republicans who are blocking voting rights legislation. He called on the Senate to change its filibuster ... Read more