One can measure the greatness of a society in how it treats its seniors. The men and women who spent decades building the foundations of America must be treated with the respect and dignity they deserve in their golden years.
As California’s first elected State Insurance Commissioner, I built the best consumer protection agency in the nation. I cracked down on scammers attempting to take advantage of senior citizens and ordered billions in rebates and rate reductions. And I forced the insurance companies to fully pay all victims of the Oakland/Berkeley Hills fires. In the aftermath of the Southern California wildfires, created and worked to pass the Homeowners Bill of Rights to protect homeowners from unfair insurances practices and helped survivors of natural disasters rebuild. I will take this commitment to consumer protection and the rights of seniors with me to Congress.
Social Security and Medicare Must be Protected
FDR’s crowning domestic achievement was the creation of a retirement system that is reliable and immune to fluctuations in the stock market. Social Security works and provides a necessary source of income for our seniors. In Congress, I will never allow Wall Street to touch Social Security, and I will never support cuts to benefits – benefits very much deserved and needed.
Medicare is widely popular among seniors for a reason: it works. Seniors are a population that requires regular checkups and frequent access to specialists, and Medicare makes that possible. After President George Bush implemented changes that made the system riper for fraud, I took the initiative as State Insurance Commissioner to ensure that seniors were not the victims of unfair marketing and sales practices in the sale of Medicare Part D products. I cracked down on agents and brokers who sought to exploit seniors’ confusion on complex new rules.
All Americans, and especially our seniors, deserve access to quality medical care, including guaranteed prescription drug affordability and the ability to choose one’s own doctor. Medicare must be given the power to negotiate drug prices.
Elder Protection Court / Elder Fraud / Elder Abuse
The establishment of elder courts offers seniors an opportunity to have most of their dealings with the justice system handled by judges fully versed in the issues that impact them, and I think these are systems that should be expanded nationwide. Our seniors are taken advantage of too frequently, and elder abuse is also far too common. I will crack down on elder abuse in Congress. As State Insurance Commissioner, working with California District Attorneys, we cracked down on insurance agents and companies that fraudulently sold annuities and life insurance to seniors. We put them in jail. We also wrote consumer-friendly regulations for companies marketing annuities to seniors. I will continue this important work in Congress.
Transit for Seniors and People with Disabilities
Our seniors and people with disabilities often have special needs that must be taken into account when planning regional public transit. All our buses must be made accessible, and regional paratransit must be protected and expanded. Some of this can be achieved with grants from the federal government, and I will work to secure the necessary funds.
I also support improved roads and increased availability of bus and train transit. Please see our Transportation Issue page for more information.
Addressing the Housing Crisis
The 2nd biggest home expense is the insurance premium. As State Insurance Commissioner, I ordered four major insurers to lower their homeowner premiums by 25 percent. Giving all homeowners a real break. I will continue this fight in Congress.
The foreclosure crisis has hit seniors on fixed incomes especially hard, and we must not tolerate a system that allows seniors to lose their homes needlessly. I support allowing bankruptcy judges to modify home loans to allow more seniors to stay in their own homes while paying off debts with a more sustainable monthly payment and a moratorium on foreclosures is appropriate.
We must also not forget renters. I support housing subsidies for low-income residents, especially seniors. No senior should be homeless, and we know that if they do become homeless, the health care costs associated with the increased medical expenses associated with a life on the streets cost us more than a broader social safety net ever could.
Senior Center Computer and Job Training Services
My 1982 legislation, SB 1359, established senior centers and senior day care programs throughout California. These centers often provide an opportunity for seniors to learn computer and Internet skills, enabling them to stay informed, connect with shared-interest communities, and find services. This is really a quality of life issue; we must expand wired senior centers. We also know that many jobs on the market today require computer literacy as a baseline skill. Some of our seniors desire new employment opportunities to pay off debts, to maintain a higher standard of living, or to simply stay active. Additional job training services should be available to seniors to fulfill their needs. I support strengthening the Workforce Investment Act to provide improved services for older workers.
Food Stamps and Wellness Services
Food stamps are an effective way for low-income residents to achieve adequate nutrition to maintain a healthy life. This is especially true of seniors. I support efforts to broaden the availability of food stamps.
More generally speaking, encouraging wellness-focused lifestyles among our seniors creates healthier, happier lives. Services must be available to keep our seniors physically fit and mentally active, and science-based nutrition should be promoted.
