By Rep. Brendan Boyle
I am proud to live in Northeast Philadelphia and be raising my family here. The Northeast is a great place to live and work.
Recently, though, things have become harder for most Northeast families. Whenever I speak to my neighbors, there is one thing that always comes up in our conversation: Life is just too expensive. No matter which neighborhood you live in or who you vote for, it’s harder than ever to make ends meet.
I’m the son of a SEPTA janitor and a school crossing guard, so I grew up watching my parents stretch every dollar. I saw how hard they fought to build a better life for our family. That’s the same fight I see our neighbors waging today. But instead of making life easier for working families, it seems like some in Washington are out of touch.
Right now, gas prices are over $4 a gallon – that’s 40 percent higher than where they were just six months ago. Costs keep rising on groceries, housing and everything in between. In just the last year and a half, the average Pennsylvania family’s cost of living has risen by $4,200.
Everyone can agree that things are going in the wrong direction. That’s why I’m taking concrete steps to bring those costs down and ease the burden on families not just in Northeast Philadelphia, but across Pennsylvania and beyond.
I recently introduced the Gas Price Relief Act, which suspends the federal gas tax anytime the national average tops $4 a gallon. Because that tax funds vital improvements to our roads, my bill covers the shortfall in the Highway Trust Fund by ending subsidies for oil and gas companies. As we’re working to bring down costs for working Americans, it’s only right that we ask the companies profiting from the current oil crisis to help pay for it.
If your family is anything like mine, gas isn’t the only daily expense that has become harder to afford. Health care costs are higher than ever, which is especially painful for older Philadelphians. For too long, pharmaceutical companies have charged astronomical prices for the medications seniors need through Medicare. It’s common sense that we shouldn’t let drug companies set outrageous prices for medications that Americans need to live, which is why I fought to pass legislation that finally allows Medicare to negotiate lower prices.
I’m proud to say that law took effect this year and is on track to slash out-of-pocket costs for seniors by $1.5 billion. On top of negotiating lower prices, I fought to cap the cost of insulin for seniors on Medicare at $35 a month and limit out-of-pocket Medicare drug costs to $2,100 a year.
That’s important progress, but we must do even more to lower costs. I often hear from seniors who feel like their Social Security payments aren’t keeping up with inflation. They’re not imagining it. Social Security is adjusted for inflation based on the expenses of the average working American – someone who spends far less on health care than seniors do.
A 30-year-old’s budget doesn’t look anything like a retiree’s budget, and it’s time our Social Security benefits reflected that. That’s why I’m fighting for legislation that would result in larger Social Security benefit increases based on seniors’ actual living expenses. This legislation, which would tie Social Security increases to a measurement called CPI-E instead of the standard measurement of inflation, would result in Social Security benefit increases that actually meet the needs of our seniors.
These are commonsense solutions we can all agree on. Congress must do more to bring down the cost of living, and I’m ready to work with anyone, from either party, to get the job done. ••
Congressman Brendan F. Boyle represents Pennsylvania’s 2nd Congressional District.
