‘Are you well?’ Rick Scott rolls out Aging Committee charge

Seniors on Social Security will be getting a substantial bump.

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott is helming a Special Committee designed to help senior citizens navigate the special difficulties of aging in America.

Yet the Naples Republican reveals that it boils down to an elemental question.

“In the committee’s initial hearing last week, Chairman Scott laid out his overarching goal for the committee: for every American to answer ‘Yes’ to the question, ‘Are you well?’ because they have secured these four things: Their physical health; Financial security; A safe community to live in; and Family and community support,” reads a statement from the committee he chairs.

Scott, a previous two-term Governor of a state where the senior population holds a powerful sway, noted that “America’s seniors face historic challenges from high inflation, a decline in overall wellness and the rise of chronic disease, sophisticated criminal scamming threats and rising crime, and increasing loneliness.”

To that end, he believes that there are concrete things Washington can do to ease the burdens and complications attendant to the aging process, including increasing efficiency and ferreting out reckless and wasteful programs in the federal government.

“As Chairman of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, I believe we must prioritize policies that ensure older Americans are not just expanding their lifespans but have the opportunity to achieve overall wellness. That stems from securing good health, financial stability, a safe place to call home and the support of their families and communities,” Scott said.

“Through the work of the Committee, we have an incredible opportunity to increase government accountability, improve outcomes in the programs seniors rely on, and Make Washington Work for America’s seniors by ending the reckless spending and bad policies that jeopardize their wellness and livelihoods.”

Scott believes that the committee brings his life’s work full circle, and asserts that many of its recommendations will cross partisan lines.

“From my time in the health care business to my tenure as the Governor of Florida and as Florida’s U.S. Senator, helping America’s seniors has always been a top priority. Now, as Chairman of this Committee, I look forward to working with President Trump and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to improve the lives of elderly Americans both now and in the future.”

The Committee convenes next on Jan. 29. It will consider the question of “Making Washington Work for Seniors: Fighting to End Inflation and Achieve Fiscal Sanity.”

Scott has spent much of the last four years hammering former President Joe Biden’s economic policies, which he blames for higher costs across the board.

The committee will hear from four witnesses next week, including Tarren Bragdon, CEO at the Foundation for Government Accountability; Social Security Works Executive Director Alex Lawson; Jeff Ferry, the Chief Economist Emeritus for Coalition for a Prosperous America; and EJ Antoni, the Research Fellow for the Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget.