An Inside Look at How AARP Is Fighting for You on Capitol Hill and Beyond

On Lobby Day, nearly every state had a volunteer member attend meetings with lawmakers to ensure their voices were heard.

For Lorri Rishar Jandron, a lead volunteer for AARP Michigan who wore a blue-and-white pin-striped blazer over her red shirt to celebrate the colors of America, caregiving was a priority. “My mom was with me as she was passing recently, and the time and effort and expense of caring for a loved one is just huge,” she says. “We need better support because so many of us of my age are caring for our parents right now.”

For Larry Kudej, a lead volunteer for AARP Iowa, preserving SNAP was an issue “near and dear” to his heart, he says. “From personal experience, with my elder parents, I know how important nutrition programs are for their health.”

Volunteer Lorri Rishar Jandron, state president of AARP Michigan, prepares for a day of meetings with federal lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Cheriss May for AARP

We’re strictly nonpartisan and mission-driven  

As Jennifer Benson, state director of AARP Massachusetts, wove her way through the tunnels and halls of the House and Senate office buildings on Wednesday, communicating AARP’s mission was top of mind.

“It’s really important to establish that AARP is not lobbying for itself, for a corporation, for money or for anything else other than regular people 50 and older,” Benson says. “When I start a conversation with that message — that we’re the people’s lobbyist — it creates an environment of learning with a trusted source.”  

AARP is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization. Of the roughly 400 meetings scheduled for Lobby Day, there was an almost even split between Democratic and Republican lawmakers. That nonpartisan stance can be traced throughout AARP’s long lobbying history, where we’ve supported and opposed policies coming from both sides of the aisle. We worked with President George W. Bush and GOP lawmakers in the mid-2000s to create Medicare Part D, then with President Barack Obama and Democratic lawmakers to create the Affordable Care Act.

“For us, it’s not about scoring points for one party or another,” Sweeney says. “It’s about making sure that whatever bills come out have the best policies in them for people 50 and older, and we evaluate every proposal that comes across our desk through that lens.”

Jennifer Benson, state director of AARP Massachusetts, and her staff meet with Rep. Richard E Neal (D-MA) on Lobby Day.

Cheriss May for AARP

AARP is taking that same approach with the sweeping Republican-led reconciliation bill currently being debated in Congress. While AARP supports certain provisions, such as a tax cut for many older Americans to help offset the tax they pay on their Social Security benefits, we oppose others, like the introduction of a work requirement for some Medicaid recipients, which could affect as many as 9 million Medicaid users ages 50 to 64.  

We’re the experts on aging

Louisiana is a state with a population that relies on Medicaid more than most, according to AARP research. About 338,000 low-income Louisianans age 50 and over — more than a fifth of the 50-plus population — depend on Medicaid for all or part of their health care. About 100,000 Medicare enrollees use it to help pay Medicare Part B premiums or deductibles and coinsurance for services such as hospital and doctor visits, while roughly 20,000 rely on it to pay for their nursing home care.   

Denise Bottcher, state director of AARP Louisiana, was armed with these statistics on Lobby Day, ready to present them to her state’s lawmakers, who are debating the proposed Medicaid cuts. “Showing them that local data, and what these proposed changes could really mean for their people if they head down this road, is really important right now,” she says. “When you pair that data with people’s human stories, it’s hard to turn away.”  

To bolster our lobbying efforts, AARP’s Policy, Research & International division produces pioneering research and analysis on Americans 50 and older. The research often provides state-specific or even county-specific data on issues AARP fights for, such as Medicaid, SNAP or age-friendly communities. That data may be accompanied by suggested policy solutions, giving decision-makers and administrators a road map for navigating issues with older Americans’ best interests in mind.

Volunteer Larry Kudej, state president of AARP Iowa, and AARP staff meet with Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) on Lobby Day.

Cheriss May for AARP

These resources offer lawmakers a robust education on how policies will affect older Americans, Sweeney says, so getting them in front of politicians is a major step in AARP’s lobbying efforts.

“These lawmakers and their small teams are working on every issue under the sun,” Sweeney adds. “When we come in with a lot of subject-matter expertise, bringing in that data and that evidence, and the perspective of the older folks, it has a profound impact.”

We’re everywhere

Stella Montano trekked over 1,800 miles from Sheridan, Wyoming, to D.C. for AARP Lobby Day. “I may not be out here that often, but I’m certainly out there representing us older folk often, so I feel like I know what to do,” she says.

Just a few weeks earlier, Montano hosted a shredding day in a community 30 miles from her hometown, helping older adults safeguard themselves from identity theft by getting rid of sensitive personal documents. As visitors stopped by, Mantano told them about the rising number of sophisticated fraud scams targeting older Americans, then handed them an AARP Fraud Watch Network brochure and told them to stay on the lookout.

Volunteer Stella Montano, state president of AARP Wyoming, prepares for a day of meetings with federal lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Cheriss May for AARP

As Montano shredded, a handful of AARP state offices across the country were simultaneously working with local law enforcement, city councils and state lawmakers on new laws that regulate a booming new mechanism for fraud: cryptocurrency kiosks.

So far this year, 20 states have drafted or already passed bills or regulations incorporating AARP’s expert recommendations, which call for caps on daily transactions from these machines, state operator license requirements, scam warnings, refund options for losses due to fraud and other protections. Federal legislation addressing this issue is also now in the works.

AARP’s footprint in every state and its reach into most communities in the U.S. allow for constant and cumulative lobbying wins that ensure no older American is left behind, Sweeney says. “We have this nationwide web,” he adds, “so if we have a big win in Rhode Island, we’re already thinking about how we’re going to get that win in California, then Iowa, then Arkansas. How are we going to build out that success into every state?”

Achieving major reform for our members can take time, though, Sweeney adds. AARP’s big lobbying wins are therefore often tied to our “staying power,” he says. “When a lot of other organizations give up after a loss and move on, we stay in the fight until we win.”