Lori Falce: Age limits for elected officials would protect them and voters

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s health is at issue. Again.

The California Democrat fell in her home and was sent to the hospital. A spokesman said everything was fine, and she was released and is now at home. I wish her well.

But concerns about Feinstein’s health are rooted in her age. At 90, she is the oldest member of the Senate and is not running for reelection.

This issue follows a hospitalization and recuperation earlier this year after a shingles outbreak. While working in Washington, she has had multiple instances of confusion, including during a vote on the military budget, she began to speak rather than give the $823 billion plan a yes or no.

“Just say aye,” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., told her.

Feinstein was flustered for a moment, gave a little laugh and then loudly voted “Aye!”

It was the kind of thing that would be sadly cute if it were your grandma. I know because my grandma passed at 90 after a long, slow — and yet somehow also very fast — period of losing touch with time and events and ultimately who we were. I loved talking to my grandma, even when she didn’t remember me.

But my grandma was not responsible for billions in defense spending. She didn’t make law. When she had a lapse and someone helped her overcome it, the result was not the state of Washington getting a third Senate vote on a topic.

The age of elected officials has been getting a lot of attention with the presidential race as people take jabs at President Joe Biden, a downright spry 80 in comparison to Feinstein. But Republican frontrunner Donald Trump is no kid himself, only three years younger at 77.

Then there are the other leading lawmakers. Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is 89; Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., are 81; Jim Risch, R-Ida., is 80. Eleven others senators are over 75. In the House of Representatives, 40 congresspeople are 75 or older, including Pennsylvania’s Mike Kelly, R-Butler.

It’s hard to draw a line in the sand with age and service because it can go hand in hand with disability and discrimination. But while many mandatory retirement laws have been rolled back or modified to reflect that, limits still come into play because of the importance and responsibility of the position.

Pilots must retire by 65 and air traffic controllers at 56, by law. Many places have a cut-off for law enforcement at 60; federally it is 57. Many states have a retirement age for judges; in Pennsylvania, that age is 75.

That means 55 members of the U.S. Congress are too old to be judges in Pennsylvania. So are both people expected to get their party nominations for president in 2024.

For many, this seems like a way to clutch personal power. For some of the people on this list, that maybe true. But for how many of them is it about holding power for their parties? Both Democrats and Republicans seem reluctant to let go of a seat that might tip the balance in one chamber or the other — or the White House.

In example, McConnell, who has also suffered falls this year, made news the day before Feinstein’s “just say aye” moment when he came to the podium for a news conference. He froze in the middle of remarks and was walked away by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., who guided him, saying, “Hey, Mitch, anything else you want to say? Or should we just go back to your office?”

McConnell did step away but was brought back to the podium shortly.

Lines should be drawn about the age of these officials to protect us all from decisions that might be misplaced or votes that are being directed by those who weren’t elected to make them. But they should also be drawn to protect elderly elected officials from being used to maintain political numbers and partisan control.