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Our nation's senior citizens have always been very important to me. As you are well aware, seniors in this nation often face difficult financial decisions, even though they have worked hard all their lives. From working to protect social security to fighting for quality health care and housing for the elderly, I am committed to making sure that seniors have the financial and medical resources to enjoy their golden years.

Social Security:

I have received letters and postcards from many of you expressing concern over Republican plans to privatize Social Security. Rest assured that I am strongly against the privatization of Social security. Seniors have worked hard and paid into the system. Putting their hard-earned money in the stock market jeopardizes their futures. I care too deeply about the welfare of our seniors to put their livelihoods at risk.

Prescription Drugs:

The health of our seniors is also an issue of critical importance to me. I am deeply committed to providing our seniors with a meaningful drug prescription plan. I am a co-sponsor of the Democratic drug prescription plan, H.R. 5019, which was introduced by Rep. Rangel. This plan would require the government to pay 80% of senior's prescription drug costs. It is a meaningful bill that seniors can depend on and unlike the Republican bill, it does not abandon seniors to pay drug costs on their own in excess of $2,000. More than one-third of the 39 million Medicare beneficiaries have no prescription drug insurance.

I did a study in the 42^nd Congressional district that shows that seniors in my district are being impoverished by drug prices. San Bernardino seniors pay an average 90% more than seniors in Canada and Mexico do. It is unacceptable that seniors must chose between feeding themselves and buying medicines to treat their pain! It is an outrage that millions of America's senior citizens are being forced into poverty because of exorbitant prices for prescription drugs. We need to remember that we are a nation of people --- of all the people and that we cannot allow such pain and suffering to continue for America's elderly and uninsured.

Medicare+Choice:

It is also my concern for the well-being of our seniors that has lead me to co-sponsor H.R. 3267, the Medicare+Choice Consumer Protection Act. Many of the seniors in my district are being forced to leave the Medicare+Choice Program, which has left them without affordable health care. This bill would aid these seniors by ensuring that if the Medicare+Choice Program leaves their area, they will still be able to obtain affordable and dependable health insurance.

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HR 1219 Hip fractures - Requires the General Accounting Office (GAO) and the National Institute of Health (NIH), in consultation with appropriate entities, to report to the Congress on the annual cost of senior citizens' hip fractures and children's spinal cord injuries (to patients, insurers, impact on the federal government and the private sector), and proposed measures to reduce hip fractures in our elderly population.

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H.R. 10 (Portman/Cardin). Comprehensive Retirement Security and Pension Reform Act: Strengthens and expands our nations private retirement savings system. Expands IRA's and 401(k)s and provides a special catch up contribution for those age 50 and older. Enhances pension portability. Makes it easier for small businesses to start retirement plans.

H.R. 97 (Hall). The Notch Fairness Act of 2001: Allows workers who attain age 65 after 1981 and before 1992 to choose either lump sum payments over four years totaling $5,000 or an improved benefit computation formula under a new 10-year rule governing the transition to the changes in benefit computation rules enacted in the Social Security Amendments of 1977.

H.R. 498 (Erlich). Mandates an increase in the earnings limit for blind Americans, under Title II of the Social Security Act. Proposal seeks to reduce the harsh work disincentive of the Social Security earnings limit as it now affects blind beneficiaries.

H.R. 504 (Green). To provide grants to strengthen services for the uninsured and underinsured.

H.R. 548 (Scarborough). Amends Title 10, United States Code, to increase the minimum Survivor Benefit Plan basic annuity for surviving spouses age 62 and older, and for other purposes.

H.R.1073 (Frank). Restricts the application of the windfall elimination provision to individuals whose combined monthly income from benefits under such title and other monthly periodic payments exceeds $2,000 and to provide for a graduated implementation of such provision on amounts above such $2,000 amount.

H.R. 1140 (Young). Modernizes the financing of the railroad retirement system and to provide enhanced benefits to employees and beneficiaries.

H.R. 2035 (Sanders). Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers Act: Requires the establishment of a Consumer Price Index for elderly consumers to compute cost-of-living increases for Social Security and Medicare benefits under titles II and XVIII of the Social Security Act.

H.R. 2142 (Walsh). Nutrition Assistance for working Families and Senior Act of 2001: Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to make illegal immigrants eligible for food stamp program benefits.

H.R. 3267 (Stark). The Medicare+Choice Consumer Protection Act-to provide for continuous open enrollment and disenrollment in Medicare+Choice plans.

H.R. 3326 (Lowey). Amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide for full benefits for disabled widows and widowers

H.R. 3327 (Lowey). Amend title II of the Social Security Act to repeal the 7 year restriction on eligibility for widow's and widower's insurance benefits based on disability.

H.R. 3328 (Lowey). Amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide for increases in widow's and widower's insurance benefits by reason of delayed retirement. Addresses disparities that exist between men and women that deny women access to benefits.

H.R. 4671 (Matsui). The Social Security Widow's Benefit Guarantee Act. To improve benefits for aged survivors, disabled survivors, and divorced spouses.

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Congressman Baca secured $50,000 in the VA/HUD Appropriations Bill for the construction of the Rancho Cucamonga Seniors Center.

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YES	Roll#260, 6/26/02, on motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 4070, the Social Security Program Protection Act. To provide additional safeguards for Social Security and Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries with representative payees, and to enhance program protections.
YES	Roll#490, 12/12/01, on motion to suspend the rules and agree to H CON RES 282, expressing the sense of Congress that the Social Security promise should be kept. We must keep our promises to our seniors who worked hard all their lives. They deserve it.
YES	Roll#96, 12/11/01, to suspend the rules and agree to Senate amendments to HR 10, the Comprehensive Retirement Security and Pension Reform Act. This bill incorporated HR 1140, the Railroad Retirement and Survivors' Improvement Act passed earlier in the year. The legislation will modernize the financing of the railroad retirement system and to provide enhanced benefits to employees and beneficiaries.
YES	Roll#443, 11/15/01, on passage of HR 2269, the Retirement Security Advice Act. Employers who want to offer their workers access to high-quality investment advice for their retirement face obstacles from an outdated federal law passed when few people invested in the stock market. The bill will remove these obstacles and allow employers to provide their workers with the benefit of quality investment advice. The measure includes rigorous safeguards to shield employees against abuse and maintains tough penalties for any advisor who fails to act solely in the interest of the worker.
YES	Roll#13, 2/13/01, on motion to suspend the rules and pass HR 2 as amended. The Social Security and Medicare Lock-Box Act establishes a procedure to safeguard the surpluses of the Social Security and Medicare hospital insurance trust funds. This bipartisan legislation offers the American people the promise that the Social Security and Medicare trust funds will be protected.

YES	Roll #79, 3/28/00, Agree to Senate Amendment. H.R. 5, Senior Citizens' Freedom to Work Act. Eliminates the earnings test for taxation of Social Security. The bill is intended to keep seniors from being penalized for working.
NO	Roll # 273, 6/14/00, on Passage of HR 4577, making Appropriations for Labor, Health and Human Services for Fiscal Year 2001. Cuts education funding, including repealing the commitment to hire 100,000 new teachers to reduce class size; denies $1.3 billion to renovate 5,000 schools for urgent safety repairs; cuts $1 billion in teacher quality initiatives for recruitment and training; eliminates funding for elementary and secondary school counselors; blocks OSHA regulation on ergonomics (workplace injuries); cuts funding to protect elderly Americans, including eliminating family care and support for 250,000 Americans with long term care needs, cuts funds to enforce nursing quality, cuts mental health for seniors, cuts funding for battered women's shelters, family planning, and health coverage for uninsured workers.
YES	Roll # 297, 6/20/00, on Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass the Social Security and Medicare Lock-Box Act, which would protect Social Security and Medicare by keeping Congress from raiding them to fund other programs.
NO	Roll # 309, 6/21/00, On Passage of H.R. 4635, the Department of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations for FY 2001. Contained deep cuts in housing and in Community Development Block Grants. Cut anti-drug programs. Provided no new funds for elderly housing, homeless assistance grants or Native American block grants.
YES	Roll # 356, 6/28/00, on Motion to Recommit, with Instructions, the Medicare RX 2000 Act. This was a vote on the Democratic counter-proposal to the Republican Prescription Drug Plan.
NO	Roll # 357, 6/28/00, on passage of the Medicare RX 2000 Act. This was the Republican Prescription Drug plan. Democrats opposed as being a plan to privatize Medicare.
YES	Roll # 363, 6/29/00, on Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree to H.Res 535, expressing the sense of the House that additional projected surplus funds should be used to supplement Medicare funding.
YES*	Roll # 412, 7/27/00, on passage of H.R. 1102, the "Comprehensive Retirement Security and Pension Reform Act. Increased maximum allowable contributions to an IRA (retirement account). * Baca excused from vote due to death in the family, but submitted Extension of Remarks explaining that if present would have voted YES.
YES	Roll # 449, 7/27/00, Pomeroy substitute amendment to H.R. 4865. Was a more fiscally prudent Social Security tax cut plan which was put forward by the Democrats.
NO	Roll # 459, 7/27/00, on passage of H.R. 4865, the "Social Security Benefits Tax Relief Act. The bill would cut taxes on Social Security. Blue Dogs and other fiscal conservatives opposed the bill because it would threaten the solvency of Medicare.

Updated August 28, 2002.