Congress faces increasing pressure to adopt changes to keep Social Security on firm financial ground in the years to come.

North Dakota retirees are sharing their thoughts about key challenges facing the program. It is not losing money as fast as once thought but a recent federal report predicted Social Security will be unable to pay full benefits a decade from now if moves are not made ahead of time.

Eddie Johs, a retiree from Fargo and an AARP volunteer, receives Social Security benefits in addition to a pension. He feels he is one of the lucky ones who does not rely solely on monthly payments from the safety net.

"I realize many people don't have a pension," Johs noted. "Social Security is just a lifeline for those people."

He said some self-employed individuals and those receiving lower wages face barriers in securing larger nest eggs. Johs will attend a Social Security Summit hosted by AARP next Tuesday at the Fargodome from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. He hopes fellow retirees listen in to what elected officials and others have to say about potential solutions and the program's impact.

Congress has long been at odds over how to address the solvency issue. Democrats often push for higher earners to be taxed on more of their income, while some Republicans have floated raising the retirement age. Johs suggested a variety of changes are likely needed but he is skeptical about asking people to work longer for the benefits they've earned.

"People that work construction or work outside, city employees, that'd be tough to work at age 65 and up when you do outdoor physical work," Johs stressed.

Currently, the full benefit retirement age is 66 for those born in 1955, and it will gradually rise to 67 for those born in later years. In the U.S. House, the Republican Study Committee has called for what it describes as "modest adjustments" to the retirement age to account for increases in life expectancy.

As advocacy groups take a victory lap for moving lawmakers to finally allow Medicare to negotiate lower prices for 10 widely-used medicines, a new report detailed how the makers of those drugs have gouged billions of taxpayer and consumer dollars.

Kyle Herrig, senior adviser for the group Accountable.US, said drugmakers have exploited U.S. patent laws to control prices for decades.

"These kinds of tactics keep prices high for the consumers," Herrig pointed out. "And often lead to patients skipping doses, disproportionately impacting lower-income Black and Latin American communities."

Drugmakers have routinely paid competitors to delay the introduction of cheaper generic versions of popular drugs. They have also kept prices high by resetting patent protections by slightly altering a drug to secure a second patent. Drug companies have long argued high prices are necessary to finance the development of new lifesaving medicines.

Even though U.S. taxpayers invested nearly $12 billion in the research and development of the drugs negotiated by Medicare, Herrig said pharmaceutical makers have also flooded the courts to keep prices high.

"Despite taking billions of taxpayer dollars for drug development, these big pharma companies unleashed an army of patent attorneys to keep lifesaving medication exclusive and more expensive for seniors and other patients," Herrig contended.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., worked with groups including AARP to push Congress to allow Medicare to use its purchasing power to bring down drug prices. She said medications do not work if you cannot afford them.

"It is fine to make profits, but not to the extent that you're actually hurting Americans' health," Klobuchar asserted. "In the United States of America, no one should be forced to choose between filling their prescriptions or filling their grocery carts."

Oregon has more than 270,000 veterans. Many of them may not know they're eligible for home modification grants through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. An AARP survey found 60% of veterans aged 45 and older weren't aware of grants available through the VA.

Juanita Jimenez-Soto, AARP national veterans and military families manager, said her organization analyzed five grants from the VA and developed a guide to help veterans navigate through them.

"They allow you to buy, build or modify a home to meet their long term needs. Now these grants provide eligible veterans with a disability rating of one all the way to 100% up to $117,000 to pay for renovations," she explained.

Jimenez-Soto noted financial aid for home modifications are free for people who qualify. The VA offers more than $150 million through these grant programs each year.

AARP's survey also found that nearly a quarter of veterans say they would need financial aid to stay in their current home. Jimenez-Soto added that it's important for people to think not just about their current needs but also what they might need in the future.

"We find that a lot of times veterans may not need that modification - that handrail in the bathroom or that ramp - but as you age your body will change sometimes," she continued.

Jimenez-Soto said veterans need to remember they earned these benefits.

"Sometimes a veteran may not think that they are deserving of those benefits. Maybe someone else who's also served, they think, 'Well they could need it more.' The thing is, there is enough money out there in these programs to apply for them and get them," she said.

Recent changes on the political scene may have brought many younger voters into the fold, but a new poll shows that in Ohio, older voters could still make up an outsized portion of the electorate in November.

A survey released this week by AARP Ohio finds that 89% of voters ages 50 and older say they are "extremely motivated" to cast a ballot this year.

AARP Ohio state director Jenny Carlson said the polling confirms that candidates need to pay attention to seniors and the issues they care about.

"Fifty-plus voters are the largest voting bloc and could tip the scale of any candidate this election," she said. "They're going to turn out this November. They're the most motivated to vote. They certainly dominate the electorate. Candidates who want to win really need to listen to the results of this poll."

In Ohio's Senate race, Democrat incumbent Sherrod Brown holds an overall four-point lead over Republican Bernie Moreno, but the GOP candidate leads by two points among voters 50 and older. In the presidential race, the poll found senior voters prefer Donald Trump over Kamala Harris by a 54% to 36% margin.

A large majority of Ohio seniors list candidates' positions on economic issues as very important, along with such concerns as protecting Medicare, helping people stay in their homes as they age, and lowering the cost of prescription drugs.

Carlson said money issues came up most often.

"Three in five of Ohio voters rank 'personal economic issues' as a top determinant for their vote this November," she said. "That's inflation, economy and Social Security. Older voters are highly concerned about pocketbook issues."

Carlson noted that Ohio seniors also have strong opinions on providing support for family caregivers. Across the state, she said, family caregivers provide about $21 billion of unpaid labor. While this saves taxpayers billions of dollars, it strains many family budgets to the breaking point.

"Family caregivers are those 50-plus who represent about 17% of all Ohio voters," she said. "What's significant about this? That is more than the swing voters, which is about 14%. So, they will vote for the candidate who advocates for them."