Press Releases
May 17, 2018
Press Release: 2017 Voting Record Shows Majority of Congress Failed to Support Retirees Last Year
2017 Voting Record Report Details Which Senators and Members of Congress Voted to Protect Retirement Security
Washington, DC – The Alliance for Retired Americans today released its 2017 voting record which scored every U.S. Representative and Senator on issues affecting current and future retirees.
The annual report examined 10 key Senate and House votes in 2017, highlighting issues concerning the health and well being of retirees. Specific votes affected Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid; prescription drug re-importation from Canada; the Affordable Care Act; medical malpractice lawsuit caps; and tax cuts for wealthy Americans and corporations, combined with tax increases for lower-income and middle class families, that increase income inequality.
“The record of the Republican Senate leadership was particularly bad on retiree issues, and many members fell in line behind their leaders and against seniors. 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. Not a single vote could be considered pro-retiree,” said Robert Roach, Jr., President of the Alliance. “Our quality of life is under attack in Washington.”
None of the House of Representatives Republican leaders — including Speaker Paul Ryan (WI), Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA), and Majority Whip Steve Scalise (LA) — cast a single pro-retiree vote. Leaders of key committees, such as Budget Chairman Steve Womack (AR) and Education and the Workforce Chairman Virginia Foxx (NC) also scored 0%. “Our Voting Record shows how committed each member of Congress is to the needs of older Americans,” President Roach said. “It will help us to make informed voting choices in November.”
Thirty-four members of the U.S. Senate achieved perfect scores of 100 percent in 2017, while another 40 received zeroes. In the U.S. House of Representatives, 178 members received perfect scores of 100 percent in 2017 while 191 received scores of zero.
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Contact: David Blank 202-637-5275 or dblank@retiredamericans.org
How do I learn how my senator/senators voted on different issues?
Please visit https://retiredamericans.org/voting-record/ and scroll down for previous years.
How terrible to realize your representative is not doing their job! We need to be have this action take place more often, in order to maintain a report on how each representative from each sector is truly doing the duty that they ran on.