Government watch 2019 financial security and consumer affairs archive

S: On May 21, 2019 Laurie McCann, Senior Attorney with AARP Foundation submitted written and oral testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Education and Labor for a

hearing entitled “Eliminating Barriers to Employment:  Opening Doors to Opportunity.”  The testimony focuses on older workers and how they continue to face numerous obstacles to employment,

barriers that cannot be fully addressed in one hearing, and in particular on the most significant barrier older workers face, which is age discrimination. (PDF)     C: On May 15, 2019 AARP

sent a letter to the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau providing comments on the Bureau’s re-consideration of its rule governing payday, vehicle title, and certain high-cost

installment loans.  AARP finds that older adults face increasing financial challenges as they age, and are poorly served by lending practices that threaten their financial livelihoods at a

time when they are least able to rebound from shortfalls.  (PDF) S: On May 14, 2019 Joan Ruff, AARP Board Chair submitted written and oral testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on

Finance for a hearing entitled “Challenges in the Retirement System” on behalf of AARP.  The policy solutions AARP Board Chair Joan Ruff presented focused on  a) successful state retirement

programs; b) federal policies to expand coverage and increase savings, including coverage of part-time workers and improving the Savers Credit, and c) federal policies to protect savings,

including fiduciary advice and meaningful disclosures.  (PDF) L: On May 8, 2019 AARP sent a letter to U.S. House Representatives Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) and Tim Walberg (R-MI) endorsing

the Stop Senior Scams Act.  The Act would establish a Senior Scams Prevention Advisory Council that would collect and publish educational materials and information on model programs that may

be used by retailers, financial services, and wire-transfer companies as a guide to prevent scams that target senior citizens. (PDF) APRIL L: On April 30, 2019 AARP sent two letters to the

U.S. House and Senate Subcommittees on Labor, Health and Human Services expressing concerns with respect to programs that are critical to the well-being of millions of older Americans, as

the subcommittees prepare to markup the FY 2020 appropriations bills.  While appreciative of the Committee’s steadfast support of the many programs important to older Americans in the FY

2019 bill, AARP remains concerned regarding repeated proposals for elimination or deep reductions in spending in the Administration’s budget request.  AARP urged the Committees to continue

to make smart investments in programs that help ensure older Americans and persons with disabilities can live independently with dignity as they age.  (Senate - PDF) (House - PDF) L: On

April 19, 2019 AARP sent a letter of endorsement to U.S. Senators John Thune (R-SD) and Edward Markey (D-MA) for the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED)

Act.  This Act will expand the powers of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to levy civil penalties against robocallers, require service providers to adopt the current

state-of-the-art call authentication technology, and promote interagency cooperation to address the robocall problem. (PDF) L: On April 9, 2019 AARP sent a letter to Ranking Member Patty

Murray of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions expressing support for several provisions of the BE HEARD Act.  The Act will strengthen protections for older

workers against age-based harassment and other forms of age discrimination. (PDF) L: On April 4, 2019 AARP sent a letter to U.S. Representatives Katie Porter (D-CA) and Kenny Merchant (R-TX)

thanking them for introducing H.R. 2073, legislation to permanently extend the 7.5 percent income threshold for the medical expense deduction. In the letter, AARP expressed that every

effort should be made to keep the threshold for the deduction as low as possible to help protect those with high medical costs. (PDF) L: On April 1, 2019 AARP sent a letter to Chairman

Richard Neal and Ranking Member Kevin Brady of the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means in support of the Substitute Amendment of the Setting Every Community up for Retirement Act of 2019

(SECURE Act).  The SECURE Act enhances tax credits to employers who offer retirement plans with automatic enrollment and encourages adequate deferral amounts. It will also permit employers

to join together and create what are known as multiple employer pension plans – a single plan in which a pooled provider will assume the primary fiduciary duties, making it easier for

smaller employers to offer automatic savings through a pooled plan that offers low cost investment savings to workers and their families. (PDF) MARCH L: On March 26, 2019 AARP sent a letter

to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy in support of the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 7).  This bill would strengthen financial security for women both while in

the workforce and later in retirement, and it would provide an important protection for all workers against age discrimination in hiring. (PDF) L: On March 19, 2019 AARP sent a letter to

Chairman Richard Neal of the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means, and to Chairman Bobby Scott of the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor supporting H.R. 397, the Rehabilitation

for Multiemployer Pensions Act.  The Act would provide low cost loans to eligible multiemployer pension plans to enable them to continue to pay earned pensions to retirees and fund their

long term pension commitments. (PDF) C: On March 15, 2019 AARP submitted written comments to Jay Clayton, Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in response to a request for

comment on updated disclosure requirements and summary prospectus for variable annuity and variable life insurance contracts.  AARP was pleased to have the chance to be a part of this

process and intends to play an active role in educating and engaging all Americans to help them make informed investment decisions that will impact their financial security. (PDF)     S: On

March 14, 2019 Lee Baker, CFP® and AARP Georgia State President provided written and oral testimony to the House Financial Services Committee, Subcommittee on Investor Protection,

Entrepreneurship and Capital Markets.  The hearing entitled “Putting Investors First?  Examining the SEC’s Best Interest Rule” will cover the Security and Exchange Commission’s (SEC)

proposed Regulation Best Interest and Customer Relationship Summary disclosure form. (PDF) S: On Tuesday, March 12, 2019 AARP Board Chair Joan Ruff submitted oral and written testimony to

the House Ways & Means Social Security Subcommittee for a hearing entitled _Protecting and Improving Social Security:  Enhancing Social Security to Strengthen the Middle Class_.  On

behalf of AARP, Ms. Ruff expressed appreciation for the opportunity to testify on some of the significant issues surrounding the current and future state of retirement security of American

workers and their families, and more broadly, on the important contributions Social Security makes to families, beyond providing the critical foundation of retirement income for Americans.

(PDF)