On Lunar New Year, Senator Murray Celebrates Securing $1 Million for the National Asian Pacific Center on Aging Helpline

ICYMI: Senator Murray Secures Hundreds of Millions for Transportation & Housing Projects Across WA in Final Appropriations Bills; Boosts Funding for Medical Research, Housing, Child Care & More

***AUDIO OF ROUNDTABLE HERE, PHOTOS AND B-ROLL HERE***

Seattle, WA - Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, visited the National Asian Pacific Center on Aging (NAPCA) to hear how the $1 million she secured in Congressionally Directed Spending will support their helpline for Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) seniors, which offers crucial assistance to seniors when English may not be their first language, and helps support access to health care services and other programs. Senator Murray met with NAPCA President and CEO, Clayton Fong, and had a roundtable discussion with the workers who staff the helpline and the seniors they serve. Senator Murray has been a longtime advocate for and supporter of NAPCA and its mission-she secured federal funding to help establish the helpline in 2004.

"Navigating programs like SNAP, LIHEAP, Medicare, and Social Security is already more difficult than it should be and it can seem next to impossible for seniors whose first language isn't English," said Senator Murray. "That's why the work NAPCA does through the Helpline is so important-and it's why I fought so hard to support that work in the funding bill we passed earlier this month. The Helpline can be the difference between having health care or being unable to fill a prescription next year. Between affording groceries or struggling to put dinner on the table. And this work is especially important at a time when we've seen Trump lead the federal government in the opposite direction-taking away non-English resources meant to help people access the programs they rely on. I am so glad I could secure $1 million to help NAPCA continue providing help to so many people, in so many languages. NAPCA can always count on me to be their proud partner in the other Washington, to fight for them and the families they serve."

"We are deeply grateful for the dedication Sen. Murray and her team have to the issues facing our elders and families," said Clayton Fong, NAPCA President and CEO. "For more than 30 years, Sen. Murray has been a champion in Congress and advocate for our elders' access to job training, skills building, healthcare, and services for older Americans."

The Trump administration's policies and Republicans' One Big Beautiful Bill Act have undermined seniors' ability to afford health care and other basic needs, and receive the Social Security benefits that they earned. Rising prices across the board have made it harder for working Americans to save for retirement, and the Trump administration's cuts to the Social Security Administration (SSA) workforce is making it harder for seniors to get the help they need to access their Social Security benefits. This all becomes even harder to manage for seniors when English is not their first language, or if they struggle with digital literacy.

NAPCA's award-winning, multilingual Helpline provides information and enrollment support for Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), caregiving services, long-term care services, and more. Since 2004, the Helpline has answered over 350,000 calls and supported over 50,000 enrollments. This resource is especially critical to so many seniors who face language and digital skills barriers. The Helpline's goal is to reduce disparities within the Asian American community and help seniors achieve better health outcomes, greater financial stability, and an overall improved quality of life.

Senator Murray has fought throughout her career-including as top Democrat on the HELP Committee from 2017-2022-to ensure a secure retirement for all Americans for decades. She was instrumental in establishing a special financial assistance program to the Central States Pension Fund in the American Rescue Plan, saving the pensions of over half a million workers and retirees in 2022. Murray also helped pass the Social Security Fairness Act, which restored full Social Security benefits for 3 million public servants across the country-including firefighters, law enforcement officers, teachers, and other state and local government workers-by repealing two provisions of the Social Security Act that unfairly reduce the Social Security benefits of some public employees. Senator Murray has been outspoken about the many ways the Trump administration is sowing chaos at the Social Security Administration and forcing seniors to wait longer for help on the phone and in person, and how President Trump's chaotic tariffs are raising grocery and energy costs for families across America.

Senator Murray fought for an out-of-pocket prescription drug costs cap in the Inflation Reduction Act, whichDemocrats passed through Congress in 2022-that every single Republican voted against-and it means millions of seniors will pay significantly less for their prescription drugs, lowering costs for families and giving them more breathing room. 70,000+ seniors in Washington state, and 4.5 million seniors nationwide will save hundreds or thousands of dollars each year thanks to the annual $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for seniors on Medicare Part D.

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