Bobby is committed to supporting our seniors and ensuring that they have dignity in retirement. 

Protecting Hard-earned Private Pensions

Millions of Americans rely on private pension plans that they earned through years of hard work.  Unfortunately, too many businesses have moved away from defined benefit pension plans.  This has left many multi-employer pension plans with fewer contributing participants and, combined with inadequate protections in the law, too many private pension plans are at risk of insolvency in the next few years.  Bobby does not believe that retired workers who earned their pensions through their hard work should be left in the lurch or face significant cuts to their benefits.  The cost to the federal government and the economy if we did nothing to protect these retirees far outweighs the cost of protecting their hard earned pensions now.  That is why Bobby has lead the fight in the House to pass the Butch Lewis Act to strengthen protections for private pension plans and shield retirees, their families, and their communities from the potentially devestating consequences of letting these plans fail.  Because of Bobby’s leadership and dedication to retirees, the House of Representatives passed the Butch Lewis Act in July 2019.

Protecting Social Security and Medicare and Support Services for Seniors

Bobby is also fighting back against efforts by Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress to cut Social Security and Medicare to finance tax cuts for big corporations and the super wealthy.  Bobby is opposed to any cuts to Social Security and Medicare benefits.  That is why he has cosponsored the Social Security 2100 Act, which would increase and improve Social Security benefits by adjusting the annual cost-of-living formula to better reflect the expenses faced by senior citizens.  This bill would also ensure that Social Security is available for future generations of Americans. 

Bobby has also co-authored the Dignity in Aging Act -- a comprehensive update to the Older Americans Act.  This act provides critical funding for our community to ensure seniors have access to food, transportation, and other basic services to ensure that seniors can live independently and with dignity.  Under Bobby’s leadership, the Dignity in Aging Act unanimously passed the House of Representatives in October 2019 and is expected to be signed into law soon.