With the New Year brings new challenges and new opportunities. I will continue to work on a bipartisan basis to ensure the priorities of seniors are enacted into law. Just before adjourning, the U.S. House of Representatives passed two bills I authored to improve the lives of seniors.
Assistance for Missing Seniors
Congress unanimously approved the National Silver Alert Act that I authored with the assistance of the Texas Silver Haired Legislature. Silver Alert is a public notification system triggered by the report of a missing senior that uses a wide array of media outlets—such as radio, television, and highway signs—to broadcast information about missing persons in order to aid in their return. Several Central Texas seniors have already been located thanks to this program.
The goal of National Silver Alert is to protect at-risk seniors in every state and every community in the country. While Silver Alert programs have been implemented in a number of states, National Silver Alert will encourage interstate and regional coordination, fund technology improvements, and link states to resources and best practices.
Protecting Seniors from Identity Theft
Congress also passed the Medicare Identity Theft Prevention Act, legislation I authored to protect both the savings and the piece of mind of Medicare beneficiaries. My bill prohibits the display of Social Security numbers on Medicare cards. Once implemented, all new Medicare cards would no longer contain a Social Security number, and existing beneficiaries would receive a new card on a phase-in basis. Private insurance companies, the Veterans Administration and the Department of Defense have already begun taking action to remove Social Security numbers from their cards. Medicare should do the same.
Seniors have spent a lifetime building their financial security. The economic crisis already threatens that security. Their savings and credit should not be put further put at risk if someone steals the information from their Medicare card. The Medicare Identity Theft Prevention Act will help ensure that the government better protects seniors from identity theft, instead of giving thieves the tools to encourage it.
Contact Me
Readers who wish to write me about Silver Alert, Medicare, Social Security or other federal issues can send a message by mail to 300 E. 8th Street, Suite 763, Austin, TX 78701, by e-mail to lloyd.doggett@mail.house.gov, or through my website at www.house.gov/doggett.
U.S. Congressman Lloyd Doggett begins his eighth term in the House of Representatives in January. He was recently honored with the AARP Legislative Achievement Award. Rep. Doggett is a senior member of the Ways and Means, Budget, and Joint Economic Committees. He and his wife Libby have two daughters—one a physician and one a teacher, and two granddaughters.