Since 1963, the president has designated the month of May as a national opportunity for Americans to concentrate on older citizens and consider the many ways that older generations enrich society, the workplace, their communities and our families. At the same time, spotlighting the 60-plus crowd for a month gives policymakers, advocates, and eldercare providers a platform to confront the challenges, herald the advances and highlight the opportunities facing an aging American society.
As we kick-off a month dedicated to "older Americans," it seems appropriate to recognize that increasing numbers of today’s "senior citizens" are blazing new trails and re-shaping our cultural definition of modern maturity. Thanks to miracle drugs, breakthrough medical research, healthier lifestyles and modern material comforts, age-related stereotypes are being re-written for today’s retirees who seem cut from a different cloth than the generation before them. Many grandparents are finding their groove in athletics, academia, politics, business or civic involvement later in life.
During the month of May I will take the opportunity to feature five outstanding Iowans each week who exemplify the achievements and diversity represented by Iowa's aging population in a speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate.
For those who are familiar with Iowa’s demographics, you’ll appreciate the difficulty in selecting just five older Iowans to salute. According to the Administration on Aging, more than 400,000 Iowans are age 65 or older. Nationally, Iowa ranks first in the percentage of persons aged 85 years and older, second for persons aged 75 and older and third for persons aged 65 and older. Across the country, the number of Americans in the latter age group is expected to double to 68 million within 30 years.
From a public policy standpoint, elected officials and policy makers need to put our long-range thinking caps on our heads to help Americans find security in retirement. In the Senate, I am chairman of the legislative committee responsible for Medicare, Social Security, pensions, and tax policies for long-term care. Meeting the needs of a faster-growing population of aging Americans must take into account the slower-growing pool of younger generations at the other end of the spectrum.
Historically, senior citizens have earned a hand in the decision-making process in Washington because they have built up a powerful lobby in the nation’s capital that also knows how to turn up the volume at the grass-roots at the right time and also because they get out and vote on Election Day. For those reasons, in the last election a prescription drug benefit under Medicare became a dominant issue in the presidential campaign.
In addition to considering proposals on prescription drug coverage for retirees, my committee is working on tax legislation that would have a big impact on the way older workers and retirees save, invest and spend their money. I am committed to seeing measures enacted that will let Americans keep more of their hard-earned money and provide better incentives to invest and save more for their own retirement.
Fittingly, the president also announced this month the creation of a special commission tasked with developing long-term solutions and structural improvements to Social Security. A complex and challenging task, preserving Social Security for baby boomers and beyond will require a bipartisan agreement. Letting partisanship get in the way is a prescription for failure and courts disaster in the years ahead. A stalemate on Social Security means the program would go broke, plain and simple.
Older Americans month also serves as an opportunity to recognize the army of Americans who selflessly devote their personal time, resources and expense to provide eldercare to a loved one in need. Caregivers have shared with me how rewarding, yet draining this job can be. I am glad my initiative to launch a national support network for family caregivers is underway this year. To find out how this program may help you cope with the financial, emotional and physical hardships that come with this awesome responsibility, contact the Iowa Department of Elder Affairs, (515) 242-3333.
Despite the critical needs fulfilled by the social safety net, government programs alone can’t match the personal ways in which families, friends and loved ones can make life better for a sick grandparent, an elderly neighbor or a widowed acquaintance. Please seize the opportunity this month to remember the many ways that an older family member, neighbor or friend touches your world. No matter how great or small it may seem, a kind and heartfelt gesture would be a meaningful way to celebrate Older Americans month and make a difference in someone’s day.