Walter Gottlieb, Author at NCPSSM

New Biden Administration Rules Aim to Boost Nursing Home Care & Caregivers

The Biden administration is out with a historic, new rules designed to improve elder care --- and protect caregivers. The first rule, issued last week, requires all nursing homes to provide 3.5 hours of daily care per patient by certified nurses’ aides or nurses. Up to now, there has been no minimum federal staffing requirement. Staffing levels were regulated only by the states, insufficiently in many cases.

Walter Gottlieb2024-05-01T11:31:22-04:00April 30th, 2024|Categories: Biden administration, caregiving, nursing homes|

Republican Study Committee Budget Cuts Earned Benefits; Keeps Trump Tax Cuts

For solid clues as to what the Republicans would do to Americans’ earned benefits if they maintain power in the House and recapture the Senate and/or the White House, look no further than the House Republican Study Committee (RSC) 2025 budget blueprint. For the second year in a row, the RSC proposes cutting Social Security and Medicare. Rep. Brendan Boyle, Ranking member of the House Budget committee, estimates that these cuts amount to $1.5 trillion for Social Security and $1 trillion for Medicare.

Walter Gottlieb2024-03-22T11:58:19-04:00March 21st, 2024|Categories: Congress, Election 2024, entitlement reform, Medicare, President Biden, Republicans, Social Security|

Biden: The Wealthy Will Pay Their Fair Share into Social Security

In Thursday night's State of the Union address, President Biden put himself unequivocally on the side of American seniors and the programs they rely on. He redoubled his commitment to protecting Social Security after confronting congressional Republicans in last year’s speech.

Walter Gottlieb2024-03-08T13:24:33-04:00March 8th, 2024|Categories: Congress, Medicare, Prescription Drug Prices, President Biden|

Special Counsel in Biden Classified Documents Case Plays Amateur Gerontologist

By declining to charge President Biden but gratuitously impugning the president’s cognitive abilities, special counsel Robert Hur overstepped his bounds and fed into a blatantly ageist narrative. Hur pulled a “James Comey” yesterday in announcing that the president would not be charged with a crime but criticizing Biden’s handling of classified documents, just as Comey did with Hillary Clinton in 2016. (And we know how that turned out.) But, unlike Comey, Hur also felt the need to disparage the President’s age and his memory, referring to Biden as "a well-meaning, elderly man."

Walter Gottlieb2024-02-09T17:11:22-04:00February 9th, 2024|Categories: ageism, Election 2024, President Biden, President Trump|

The Spending Deal & Seniors: How Do Older Americans Fare in Agreement to Keep Gov’t Open?

What's good and bad for seniors in the current spending deal on Capitol Hill? Our director of government relations and policy, Dan Adcock, tells us about how much funding crucial programs for older Americans are likely to receive for the rest of this fiscal year.

Walter Gottlieb2024-02-01T21:27:28-04:00January 31st, 2024|Categories: Budget, Congress, Medicare, Social Security|

Congress Shouldn’t Enact “Death Panels” for Social Security & Medicare

NCPSSM sent a letter to Congress today urging representatives to reject the Fiscal Commission Act of 2023. This bill would establish a commission that would circumvent Congress’ regular order for considering Social Security and Medicare changes. The bill will be marked up in the House Budget Committee on January 18. Commissions of this kind are intended to squeeze every possible dollar of savings out of Social Security and Medicare without consideration for the adequacy of benefits.

Walter Gottlieb2024-01-17T17:32:05-04:00January 17th, 2024|Categories: Congress, fiscal commission, Social Security|

NCPSSM Endorses Tim Kaine for Re-election to U.S. Senate

On behalf of our 28,000 members and supporters in Virginia, the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare today proudly endorsed Tim Kaine for re-election to the U.S. Senate in Fredericksburg, VA on Friday. Senator Kaine has proven himself time and again as a leader on issues affecting Virginia seniors. He earns a 100% rating on our legislative scorecard for his steadfast championing of Social Security, Medicare, and lower prescription drug prices.

Walter Gottlieb2024-01-05T15:44:31-04:00January 5th, 2024|Categories: Election 2024, Medicare, PAC, Social Security|

FDR Would Be “Fighting Mad” About Assaults on Social Security, Says Grandson on New Podcast

President Franklin D. Roosevelt would be “fighting mad” about conservative attempts to undermine Social Security, says his grandson, Jim Roosevelt on the first episode of our new podcast --- released this week.

Walter Gottlieb2023-12-18T21:33:46-04:00December 15th, 2023|Categories: Medicare, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Republicans, Social Security, Social Security Administration (SSA), Social Security Disability Insurance, SSA field offices, You Earned This podcast|

Sorry, Slate Magazine, We Don’t Need to ‘Radically Rethink’ Social Security

Conservative think tanks and publications have been very busy this fall pumping out propaganda designed to undermine Social Security. Of course, the conservative movement has been working to weaken or eliminate the program since the 1980s, and its messaging seeps quite seamlessly into the mainstream media narrative about Social Security. A recent opinion piece in Slate magazine is the latest example of anti-Social Security propaganda from the political right.

Walter Gottlieb2024-01-05T16:01:17-04:00November 22nd, 2023|Categories: Boost Social Security, Congress, Equal Time, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Social Security|

NY Times Op-ed Attempts to Divide the Generations to Undermine Social Security & Medicare

In this "Equal Time" edition of our blog, we push back on a recent New York Times op-ed that attempts to divide the generations in order to undermine Social Security and Medicare.