WASHINGTON WATCH: Seniors must stay informed, vigilant

If you haven't noticed (and who could not?), the Republican Party is gearing up for the presidential election big time. The debates have been interesting but not nearly as much as the selection process. One week it's Romney surging ahead, and the next week Gingrich, etc., etc. But now the field is narrowing and some candidates are running out of money and pulling out. Where do they find the energy? It looks exhausting to me both physically and mentally.

As soon as a Republican nominee is chosen, President Barack Obama will begin his campaign and the Democrats will rally around to help him. In the meantime, not much will be accomplished in Congress as the Republicans will do nothing that would improve the president's status and the Democrats will try to pass bills to help the president's image and will be stymied by Republicans.

The thing that bothers me most is the amount of money being spent on this election by both parties when we have people hungry and homeless. But then, until some kind of election reform takes place, this will continue. Reform has been attempted before but no cigar. Having the most campaign dollars often leads to a candidate being elected who is the least qualified but had the most money to get his message out. And of course we have the close race between Sen. Dean Heller and Rep. Shelley Berkley for Heller's Senate seat.

Then there is the new House seat that everyone with enough money to file seems to be taking a shot at. The other night I saw a man named Swartz on Jon Ralston's program who has been in Nevada for two years and he has all our problems solved (in his head) and now wants to move on to D.C. and do the same. I listened very closely and came up with one word, "unbelievable." So while we won't see much action in Congress for awhile, look at all the TV ads we get to see and hear. Lucky us! Can't wait!

I just received the final interim report on the voting record of our congressional delegates on bills that would negatively affect seniors: Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act, House Roll Call 14, revokes significant drug discounts for Medicare beneficiaries who fall in the Part D doughnut hole, revokes checkups and preventive screenings and much more, such as revoking subsidies to employers who provide health care. Republican Reps. Mark Amodei and Joe Heck voted for the repea,l while Democrat Berkley voted against the repeal. As to who did the right thing, that is for you seniors to decide.

The voting follows pretty much the same pattern for Rep. Paul Ryan's GOP budget and others; however, space doesn't allow a full report here, so please call me to request a copy - 687-4680, ext.2. You can also contact your congressman and senators and ask them to explain their vote.

Guy W. Farmer in a recent column stated that the Independents will decide the presidential outcome, not the Republicans or Democrats. I hope he is wrong since I want the American people, regardless of how they are registered politically, to decide who is going to lead our nation. Maybe the time has come to do just that. Stay tuned!

• Janice Ayres is president of Nevada Senior Corps Association.