Notch Reform Bulletin: Charity Should Begin At Home

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Notch Reform Bulletin: Charity Should Begin At Home

We recently received the following from one of our members:
“Notch Victims in America should be repaid before any money is loaned or given to war victims over seas. We need to help here in America first. My husband is a WW II veteran, legally blind due to macular degeneration. Charity should begin at home.”

Congress recently did add funding to veterans’ benefits, in part, however, to ease the passage for tens of billions for the reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan. The New York Times reported that an investigation found the “overwhelming majority of government contracts for billions of dollars of reconstruction work went to companies run by executives who were heavy political contributors to both political parties.”

While Notch Babies may not have pockets as deep as some of those winners of billions in government contracts, you do have something just as potent—your vote. This is a presidential election year. The entire House, one third of the Senate, and the White House will be up for grabs. It will be our chance to hold elected lawmakers accountable.

In 2003, TSCL released what we believe is the first independent study ever done on the Notch. The study, by respected economist John Haldi, says that the law changes that created the Notch were not equitable and calls on Congress to reconsider the issue. Over 83 Members of the House have signed on as co-sponsors of H.R. 97, “The Notch Fairness Act,” which would provide Notch Babies born from 1917 through 1926 their choice of a higher monthly benefit or a $5,000 Lump-Sum. Now we need to set our sights on building the same kind of support in the Senate.

Persistence pays. It took 30 years from the time when Medicare was first considered as a provision in the 1935 legislation that created Social Security, until Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare into law in 1965. I urge you not to give up. Please stay in contact with your Members of Congress. Our legislative team frequently reminds Representatives and their staffs that seniors do stay informed on issues close to their heart, and they do vote. Let them know you want action on Notch Reform this election year and you will be holding them accountable!

Sources: “Bush got $500,000 From Companies That Got Contracts, Study Finds,” Edmund L. Andrews and Elizabeth Becker, The New York Times, October 31, 2003. “From the Crash to the Blitz 1929-1939,” Cabell Phillips, 1969, The New York Times Company, page 288.

February 2004