Search results for: herb weiss
New study gives Congress a road map to fix Social Security – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer, aging issues As Social Security celebrates its 90th anniversary on Aug. 14, 2025, this essential retirement program has long been facing a significant long-term financing gap. According to the 2024 Social Security trustees report, unless Congress acts the trust funds will be depleted by 2035, forcing the program to reduce benefits by…
Read MoreOlder adults attract scammers with popularity of cyberdating – Herb Weiss
by Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues Digital technology is not just a way to find information and news, shop, or even search and apply for jobs. For older single adults, getting back into the dating scene can be difficult. It could be after a divorce, or death of a spouse, or just deciding…
Read MoreFirst Senate Aging Committee hearing of new congress looks at wellness – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer, aging issues Over a week after the 119th Congress began on Friday, Jan. 3, U.S. Senator Rick Scott (R-Fla.) took the reins of the U.S. Special Committee on Aging, becoming its 20thchairman. He follows in the footsteps of former Chairman Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), a 3-term Democratic Senator, who lost his reelection bid for a…
Read MoreNational survey says care for older adults needs urgent rethinking – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues With President Trump’s administration beginning and a new Congress poised to rethink, among other issues, Social Security, Medicare and federal aging programs and services, it might be prudent for the president and lawmakers to take a quick glance at the findings of a recently released national survey,…
Read MoreLeadership Rhode Island’s Senior Fellows pledge to volunteer with non-profits – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer, aging issues When a state law was enacted in 2024 allowing families to install monitoring cameras in the nursing home rooms of their loved ones, Ginny Lee, one of Leadership Rhode Island’s first Senior Fellows, was among those celebrating. Lee had spent a lot of time button-holing legislators and testifying…
Read MoreFrom Detroit to Pawtucket, and back again: The journey of a WWII footlocker – Herb Weiss
by Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues “There and Back Again.” originating from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, is an expression that means a complete round trip to a place, including the journey back to where you started. The journey of my late-father’s military olive-green footlocker began last June, after I was notified by a…
Read MoreLooking back at 2024, sharing some favorites – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues Like many national news organizations, RINewsToday, The Pawtucket Times and Woonsocket Call (now combined into one newspaper called the Blackstone Valley Call & Times), offers its readers an ‘age beat’ editorial commentary, covering a myriad of aging issues, Congress (including Social Security and Medicare) retirement, the long-term care continuum, consumer issues, spirituality, pop…
Read MoreUpdate: President signs historic Social Security legislation – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues UPDATE: President Joe Biden has now signed the Social Security Fairness Act. From the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare: ___ After 40 years, a polarized Congress actually worked together on behalf of millions of Americans with public pensions to push through bipartisan legislation repealing…
Read MoreThe wall of separation, church and state – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on issues of aging Lawmakers with strong religious beliefs can be found serving in state houses, congress, and state departments of education, etc., throughout the nation. Occasionally, we’ve seen the wall of separation of church and state crumble, or be taken up in the courts. According to PEN America, between July…
Read MoreChair Casey leaves mark on national aging policy. Leadership changes in DC and RI – Herb Weiss
Chairman Casey’s Leadership Leaves his mark on national aging policy By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues Last week, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, held his last hearing, entitled “Empowering People with Disabilities to Live, Work, Learn, and Thrive, in SD 106. This hearing was his swan song as…
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