Seniors & Medicare
For decades, Medicare and Social Security have helped millions of Americans retire comfortably after a lifetime of work. As a country, we made a promise to protect our elderly and ensure they would have reliable access to the resources and support that they earned. Today, more than ever, we cannot abandon our seniors when their resources, and ultimately their independence is threatened.
Congressman Gonzalez opposes ill-advised efforts to privatize Social Security or turn Medicare into a voucher system. The congressman supports protecting Social Security and expanding and improving Medicare for all Americans.
Unfortunately, one in every five elderly Americans have been victims of financial abuse. As a member of the House Committee on Financial Services, Congressman Gonzalez seeks to enact policies that protect senior citizens from financial exploitation.
The congressman has proudly co-sponsored legislation that would: address the long-term challenges associated with funding Social Security and ensure that seniors’ hard-earned benefits keep pace with the rising cost of living, healthcare, and prescription drugs. Some of this legislation includes: H.R. 676, Expanded & Improved Medicare For All Act, H.R. 849, Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act of 2017, and H.R. 508, the Seniors Have Eyes, Ears, and Teeth Act of 2017.
More on Seniors & Medicare
WASHINGTON – Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15) and 52 bipartisan members of Congress called on U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar to include senior living communities in future distributions of CARES Act coronavirus relief funding.
WASHINGTON – Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15) and 77 of his colleagues sent a letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma asking them to work with states, localities, and private labs to immediately collect and publicly report facility-level data on the number of long-term care residents affected by the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19), including cases and fatalities.
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15) released a statement following his vote in favor of H.Res. 826, Expressing disapproval of the Trump administration’s harmful actions towards Medicaid.
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15) voted in favor of H.R. 1230, Protect Older Workers Against Age Discrimination Act, to level the playing field for older workers and restore their rights to fight back against age discrimination. Congressman Gonzalez is a co-sponsor of the legislation. The bill passed with an overwhelming bipartisan vote: 261 to 155.
The bill amends the Age Discrimination Act of 1967 to establish an unlawful employment practice against age discrimination.
WASHINGTON – On Wednesday, Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15) and Kevin Brady (TX-08) introduced H.R. 3934, the Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act of 2019. The legislation seeks to ensure more fairness for Social Security benefit payments by eliminating the windfall elimination provision (WEP).
WASHINGTON – Congressmen Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15) and Steve Stivers (OH-15) and Senators Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) reintroduced the Responsible Additions and Increases to Sustain Employee (RAISE) Health Benefits Act, or the RAISE Act. For families across the country, rising health care costs are a major concern. This bipartisan, bicameral legislation seeks to give hardworking Americans more discretion in how they pay for the health care their family needs, while also allowing them to save for future expenses.
WASHINGTON – Congressmen Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15) and Doug Collins (GA-09) today sent a letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar in support of provisions in the Modernizing Part D and Medicare Advantage to Lower Drug Prices and Reduce Out-of-Pocket Expenses proposed rule. The proposed rule would reform the use of pharmacy direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) fees, or pharmacy price concessions, in the Medicare Part D program.
WASHINGTON – Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15) issued the following statement in response to tonight’s State of the Union address from President Donald J. Trump.
“It is important to note that now – more than ever – is the time for the Administration to make a good faith effort to find common ground with Congress as we each outline our visions for the future of this country. No, I do not agree with President Trump on every policy or approach, but I have always been willing to come to the table in the name of bipartisanship.
WASHINGTON – Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15) has cosponsored H.R. 141, the Social Security Fairness Act, bipartisan legislation that would repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) titles of the Social Security Act. H.R. 141 would eliminate unfair social security benefit reductions for millions of Americans after a lifetime of public service.
WASHINGTON – Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15) has cosponsored H.R. 824, The Fairness for Federal Contractors Act, bipartisan legislation that would compensate federal contractors for wages lost due to the recent government shutdown. H.R. 824 would provide backpay of up to $1,400 per week for affected contractors.