Political Quotes

“In these difficult economic times, the face of retirement is changing. Today, seniors are staying on the job longer--not just because they want to, but, frankly, because they have to. That's why I'm introducing two bills that will begin to address some of the challenges that we see facing our older workforce. The Older Americans' Job Opportunities Blueprint Act expands the work opportunity tax credit already available to over a dozen specific parts of our employment pool that will now benefit employers in hiring older Americans. For the first time in our history almost 20 percent of our workforce is 55 years and older; this is very different than we've had in the past. I have also introduced the Back to School Act, which will give seniors financial assistance to take courses if they want to change their careers or to make them more competitive in the workforce. Congress, of course, focuses a lot of our attention on new entrants or future entrants into the U.S. workforce, but the reality is that seniors are putting off retirement until much longer, and it's time that we change the way our Nation thinks about retirement. I am excited to introduce these two pieces of legislation that will give older Americans a chance to continue working.”