October 06, 2020
Retiree Group Endorses Jahana Hayes for Re-election to U.S. House
Cites Commitment to Expanding and Protecting Earned Social Security and Medicare Benefits
Waterbury, CT – Members of the Alliance for Retired Americans proudly announced their endorsement of Jahana Hayes for reelection to the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut’s 5th Congressional District today. The Connecticut Alliance is a grassroots advocacy organization with more than 58,000 members across the state.
“Rep. Hayes has already proven that she will look out for older people in Washington. She has earned a lifetime 100% score in the Alliance’s annual Congressional Voting Record,” said Bette Marafino, president of the Connecticut Alliance for Retired Americans. “We trust her to work to expand and preserve our hard earned Social Security and Medicare benefits. She knows that many seniors in her district rely on those benefits, and she’s working to protect all of our retirement security.”
Rep. Hayes accepted the endorsement virtually via Zoom, forgoing an in-person event due to the COVID-19 pandemic which has claimed more than 209,000 American lives, 80 percent of whom are over the age of 65. In Connecticut, 4,513 people have died from the virus and 94% of the deceased were over 60.
“Thank you very much for this endorsement,” said Rep. Hayes. “I will continue to work really hard to expand Medicare and Medicaid to include health care, vision and dental coverage and protect and expand Social Security. Most recently, the president’s deferral of payroll taxes is dangerous because people don’t understand what that means. And I’ve been trying to educate people on the fact that not only will you have this balloon payment in a few months that you’ll owe the federal government, but we will effectively bankrupt Social Security.”
Marafino also noted that constituents can count on Rep. Hayes to keep fighting to lower drug prices. Last year she voted to require Medicare to negotiate lower prices for life-saving prescription drugs that older people rely on and to cap out of pocket health care costs for Medicare beneficiaries at $2,000 per year.
“Now more than ever, it is vital that we have representatives in Washington who care about seniors in Connecticut and vote accordingly,” emphasized Marafino. “Voting for the right person is literally a matter of life or death.”
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Contact: Bette Marafino, bettemarafino@sbcglobal.net
