In addition to the individual Congressional meetings, AMAC Action met with members of the following committees: House Ways and Means Committee and its Social Security Subcommittee, the Senate Finance Committee and its Social Security Subcommittee, the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus, the Republican Study Committee, and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The AMAC Government Relations Team had health care policy meetings individually and with other conservative stakeholders with the Director of Domestic Policy for the Trump White House. AMAC is actively involved with key health care coalitions. AMAC belongs to the Free2Care coalition, a partnership of physician and patient advocates working together to create a package of reforms that empowers both physicians and patients. AMAC Action also attended the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and is a regular participant in forums with Washington, D.C.-based conservative movement organizations, including the American Tax Reform’s Center Right Coalition, the Weyrich Lunch, the Conservative Action Project, the American Conservative Union, the National Tax Limitation Committee, and the Heritage Foundation. KEY LEGISLATIVE VICTORIES Despite the restrictions placed upon advocacy efforts by the coronavirus, AMAC Action’s Government Relations Team secured key legislative victories throughout 2020. The following AMAC Action recommendations were included in the Phase 3 Covid relief stimulus package known as the CARES Act: To repeal or defer IRA Required Minimum Distributions Required Minimum Distributions (RMD) limit the ability of seniors to make wise investment decisions based on market actions. AMAC Action’s Government Relations Team told Congress that government regulation should not force anyone, especially seniors, to liquidate savings in a “personal” account. In line with AMAC Action’s recommendation, a temporary waiver was put in place on Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) rules for IRA’s in the calendar year 2020. AMAC members participated in this process by sending over 7,400 emails to Members of Congress supporting our recommendations and played a key role in communicating this message. To suspend the penalties for early withdrawals from retirement accounts during 2020 AMAC Action urged Congress to renew Section 202 of the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2019 to help those individuals and families facing increased economic hardship as a result of the pandemic. The CARES Act removes the 10 percent penalty for early withdrawal for distributions up to $100,000 for retirement savers who need liquidity. To protect Social Security benefits from federal governmental garnishment Social Security benefits are off limits to nearly all creditors, but not the federal government. Uncle Sam can garnish Social Security benefits for certain debts, including federal student loan debt co-signed by retirees. Our legislative team has consistently recommended permanently fixing this issue to protect all Americans’ Social Security outside of their financial circumstances. We were pleased to see Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announce that the department stopped garnishing Social Security benefits to pay for student loans in default.
AMAC Action | www.amacaction.org | 855.809.6976 | info@amacaction.org
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