Louisiana Seniors Deserve an Answer on Why Cassidy Has Voted Repeatedly to Slash Seniors’ Benefits
BATON ROUGE – It’s 35 days and counting since Congressman Bill Cassidy’s most recent vote to harm Louisiana seniors by raising the retirement age to 70 and forcing seniors to work an additional three years before qualifying for full Social Security benefits.
“Louisiana seniors deserve the chance to live out their golden years by enjoying a secure retirement and spending time with their families, but Congressman Bill Cassidy apparently doesn’t agree,” said Louisiana Democratic Party Executive Director Stephen Handwerk. “Cassidy’s vote to raise the retirement age to 70 shows that Cassidy doesn’t care about Louisiana seniors, and his failure to explain his vote is especially troubling. Louisiana seniors just can’t trust Bill Cassidy.”
The Republican Study Committee budget, which Cassidy voted for on April 10, would raise the age for full retirement under Social Security to 70. This would unfairly burden seniors with physically demanding jobs, who are often the workers that rely on Social Security the most. A report by the Economic Policy Institute found that about 45 percent of older employees have physically demanding jobs or work under difficult conditions.
“Louisianians are proud to work in tough, sometimes dangerous environments, like an oil rig or refinery,” said Handwerk. “Forcing roughnecks or construction workers to labor until age 70 before they can retire is cruel. Cassidy should be ashamed of voting for this heartless plan to make our seniors work another three years to retire with the full Social Security benefits they have earned.”
Since he was elected in 2009, Cassidy has never missed a chance to slash retirement benefits by repeatedly voting for budgets that target seniors. In 2013, Cassidy voted for that year’s Republican Study Committee budget, which would have raised the age for Medicare eligibility to 70, as well.
Visit www.Cassidycare.com to learn more about Cassidy’s record.
Background
2014: Bill Cassidy Voted For The FY 2015 Republican Study Committee Budget. [H. Con. Res. 96, Vote #175, 4/10/14]
- The FY 2015 RSC Budget Raised The Retirement Age For Social Security To 70. “This budget would slowly phase in an increase in the Social Security full-retirement age. The full retirement age would continue the current-law’s gradual increase of two months per year beginning in 2022 until the full retirement age reaches 70.” [The FY 2015 RSC Budget, accessed 4/9/14]
2013: Cassidy Voted For The FY 2014 RSC Budget. [H.Con.Res.25, Vote #86, 3/20/13]
- The FY 2014 RSC Budget Increased The Medicare Retirement Age To 70. “To address the increased demands on Medicare, this budget proposes raising the age of Medicare eligibility, beginning in 2024, by two months every year beginning with those born in 1959 until the eligibility age reaches 70, bringing Medicare eligibility in parity with Social Security.” [Republican Study Committee FY 2014 Budget, accessed 5/10/13]
Economic Policy Institute: 45 Percent Of Seniors Reported Having Physically Demanding Jobs Or Working Under Hard Conditions.“Using narrow definitions of risk, some have argued that only a relatively small group, 10 percent of older persons, would be harmed by further increasing the full retirement age to age 69 or older. But such claims ignore many challenges facing older workers. For example, research shows that roughly 40 percent of retirees retire earlier than planned for job, health, or caregiving reasons; 20–30 percent of people in their 60s report that their health is poor; around 45 percent of older workers have physically demanding jobs or work under difficult conditions; and about 20 percent of older adults are caring for a frail relative.” [Economic Policy Institute, 5/30/12]
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