WASHINGTON --- Senator Grassley today received the “Legislative Excellence Award” from the AARP during a meeting with organization leaders at the AARP office in Des Moines.
According to the CEO of the AARP, Grassley’s “outstanding leadership led to the enactment of legislation that included about 20 million additional older Americans – those who rely on Social Security – in receiving rebate assistance to help pay for necessities like food and medicine. And, at a time when millions of Americans are struggling to deal with the housing crisis and skyrocketing gas and food prices, [Grassley’s] legislation not only put money back into our ailing economy, but also into the pockets of millions of needy seniors.”
Grassley worked in January against party leaders and the White House to make sure that these retirees were not left out of the tax payment plan that provided rebate checks from the federal government as part of an effort to stimulate the economy.
The Senate legislation that Grassley helped to develop made sure that workers with $3,000 in earned income during 2007 or seniors who had $3,000 in Social Security benefits qualified even if they earned too little to pay income taxes.
Grassley is the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Finance, which is responsible for federal tax policy.