Murphy: Older Americans Act Reauthorization Major Win for Florida Seniors

Press Release

Today, U.S. Representative Patrick E. Murphy made the following statement hailing the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act (OAA) by voice vote in the House of Representatives. Reauthorization of the OAA was passed by unanimous consent in the Senate last summer, but the House had failed to act on it for months until a recent Murphy-backed bipartisan effort called for its passage. For over 50 years, the OAA has supported health care and independent living programs that provide aid to millions of Americans seniors, most of whom are low income.

"When it comes to caring for our most vulnerable and keeping our promise to our seniors, it should never be a partisan issue. I was proud to join my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in calling for this critical reauthorization to move forward," said Murphy. "For the millions of Florida seniors who depend on the Older Americans Act -- from Meals on Wheels to caregiver support to fraud and abuse protections -- this is a major win. I remain committed to working in Congress to put seniors first and push for robust funding to support these critical programs."

As a member of the Seniors Task Force, Murphy recently signed onto a letter calling on Speaker Ryan to reject any Republican budget proposal that contains harmful cuts to seniors' earned benefits, threatens their health care access, or endangers the retirement security for millions of Americans like those found in his "Roadmap for America's Future." Committed to protecting seniors and the benefits they rely on, he also joined with Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth (IL-08) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to introduce the SAVE Benefits Act to help seniors, veterans, and persons with disabilities make ends meet through a one-time emergency increase in benefits. Additionally, Murphy introduced the Social Security Parent Penalty Repeal Act to reduce the penalty a parent faces for leaving the workplace to care for a young child, and joined with Seniors Task Force chairs U.S. Representatives Jan Schakowsky (IL-09) and Doris Matsui (CA-06) to introduce H. Res 393, a resolution to protect and expand Social Security benefits. As a member of the LGBT Equality Caucus' Task Force on Aging, he also introduced the Ruthie and Connie LGBT Elder Americans Act to improve the Older Americans Act to better serve LGBT seniors, who face higher rates of poverty, pronounced social isolation, and less access to health care due to barriers in the aging system and past discrimination. Furthermore, Murphy has been leading the charge in Congress to protect Medicare Advantage from cuts.

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