Henry Cuellar for Congress | Proven Leadership for Texas

As State Representative, Henry Cuellar strongly supported legislation to help senior citizens:

• delivered the largest back-to-back tax cuts in the history of Texas
• provided a new Texas Taxpayer’s Appraisal Bill of Rights that limited appraisal tax increases
• simplified tax appeals
• reformed mass appraisals and provided portability of senior tax freezes
• established a Patient’s Bill of Rights to allow patients to obtain the appropriate and medically necessary health care
• raised the Medicaid income eligibility cap for nursing home services
• streamlined the state’s programs for long-term care to better serve the needs of the elderly who depend on these programs
• required state agencies that serve the needs of the elderly to inform their clients about other community services that might be of assistance to them, supported more funding to the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) to help seniors with affordable housing programs such as the Home Investment Partnership Program, Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program, the House Payment Assistance Program and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program to help seniors buy, weatherize and provide assistance with high energy costs
• and Henry co-sponsored legislation to cut the sales tax on over-the-counter medicines to help seniors afford medicines.

In Congress, Henry Cuellar will continue the fight to protect senior citizens. Protecting Social Security and providing affordable prescription drugs is important to senior citizens.

Social Security is a promise that must never be broken. It is a plan that works and offers retirees, the disabled, and survivors a secure retirement benefit guaranteed against inflation. Social Security is a plan that works and without it more than half of all retired Americans would live in poverty.

AARP has reported that Social Security is assured until the year 2042, and in today’s economy social security is just as important as any other issue. In 2050 older citizens will have outnumbered children. Therefore, Congress and the administration must develop programs and improvements now, while Social Security is still stable.

Cuellar has pledged to protect Social Security and Medicare and opposed total privatization efforts that would take $1.5 trillion from Social Security to set up private accounts over the next ten years leaving a massive hole in Social Security funding.

Cuellar has pledged to work with both democrats and republicans to develop a solution that will be fair for everyone in order to protect benefits after the year 2050 without cutting guaranteed benefits or raising the retirement age.

Cuellar will work for measures to reduce poverty rates among the elderly and women and to add a prescription drug benefit under Medicare that covers all seniors and controls drug prices.

Henry Cuellar’s advocacy for senior citizens in providing funding and legislation has been recognized by the Texas Association of Community Health Centers as “State Legislator of the Year,” the Living Nursing Centers of America for “Outstanding Contributions and Efforts,” the Association of American Retired Persons (AARP) for “Dedication and Commitment to Seniors” Award, Retama South Nursing Center for “Commitment to Long-Term Care” Award, the Retama West Nursing Center’s “Recognition of Service to Nursing Homes,” the Texas Public Accountability Coalition, “Grade A for Legislative work on Important Issues affecting the Elderly,” the ARA Living Center’s several awards for “Outstanding Volunteer Service for Seniors,” and the Young Lawyers Association-“Recognition for providing Legal Services to Senior Citizens.”