Conversations With Congress

Featured Speakers:

Republican Senator Bill Cassidy

U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy

Courtesy office of U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy

Dr. Bill Cassidy is the senior United States senator for Louisiana. Sen. Cassidy grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and attended Louisiana State University (LSU) for undergraduate and medical school. In 1990, he joined LSU Medical School, teaching medical students and residents at Earl K. Long Hospital, a hospital for the uninsured. He serves on the Finance Committee, as the ranking member on the Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee (HELP), the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and the Veterans Affairs Committee. He is leading a bipartisan effort in the Senate to ensure Social Security remains solvent for America’s current and future retirees. Sen. Cassidy is married to Dr. Laura Cassidy and they have three children.

Democratic Congressman John Larson

U.S. Congressman John Larson

Courtesy office of U.S. Congressman John Larson

Congressman John B. Larson proudly represents Connecticut's First District. Now in his 13th term, Rep. Larson sits on the influential House Ways and Means Committee — including the Subcommittee on Tax Policy and the Social Security Subcommittee, where he serves as the ranking member. Throughout his time in Congress, he has proven himself a staunch advocate for Connecticut's working families. As part of that effort, he introduced the Social Security 2100 Act to enhance benefits and ensure the foundation of our retirement system remains strong for generations. Rep. Larson is a lifelong resident of East Hartford, where he lives with his wife Leslie. They have three children: Carolyn, Laura and Raymond.

AARP Board Chair Lloyd E. Johnson

Lloyd Johnson, Chair, AARP Board of Directors

Eli Meir Kaplan Photography

Lloyd E. Johnson holds an MBA degree and is a CPA. He is a former managing director and global chief audit executive with Accenture. He has more than 40 years of experience in governance, strategy, finance, mergers and acquisitions, information technology, cybersecurity and enterprise risk management with large multi-national corporations. He joined the AARP Board in 2014, serving as Board chair of AARP Foundation for four years and as AARP Board second vice chair, chairing the Audit and Finance Committee from 2020-2023. He also serves as a Board member of Apogee Enterprises and Beazer Homes, where he chairs their audit committees, and as a Board member of Haemonetics Corp. and VSE Corp. 

AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins

Jo Ann Jenkins, Chief Executive Officer, AARP

TIMOTHY GREENFIELD-SANDERS

As CEO of AARP, Jo Ann Jenkins leads the world’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization, harnessing the power and passion of almost 2,300 staff members, 60,000 volunteers and numerous strategic partners. Since joining the organization in 2010 and heading it since 2014, she has transformed AARP into a leader in social change, dedicated to empowering people to choose how they live as they age. Under her leadership, AARP received the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and has been recognized as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies. Her best-selling book, Disrupt Aging: A Bold New Path to Living Your Best Life at Every Age, has become a signature rallying cry for revolutionizing society’s views on aging by driving a new social consciousness and sparking innovative solutions for all generations. 

Moderated by: 

Capitol Hill Correspondent Lisa Desjardins

Capitol Hill Correspondent Lisa Desjardins

Mike Morgan

Lisa Desjardins is a correspondent for PBS NewsHour, where she covers news from the U.S. Capitol while also traveling across the country to report on how decisions in Washington affect people where they live and work. Prior to joining NewsHour, Desjardins spent nearly 10 years with CNN as a senior correspondent and Capitol Hill reporter. Desjardins earned a bachelor’s degree at the College of William and Mary and a master’s degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Desjardins’ reporting during and after the January 6 Capitol insurrection was the recipient of a Peabody Award, the Radio and Television Correspondents’ Association Joan S. Barone Award, and the National Press Foundation’s Everett McKinley Dirksen Award for Distinguished Reporting of Congress.