Millions of Americans rely on Social Security and Medicare to meet their retirement security and healthcare needs. We must keep our promises to our seniors and ensure that they receive the benefits and care they are due through these programs.
Last year marked the 75th Anniversary of Social Security, a program that currently provides critical retirement benefits to more than 50 million Americans. It is truly our nation’s safety net for the elderly and retired. I am deeply concerned that we will not be able to fulfill promises to those who have done their part by paying into the system. The Social Security Administration has stated that the program is not sustainable in the long term. The hard truth is that, for the first time since 1983, Social Security will pay out more in benefits this year and the next than it collects. The nation's high unemployment and longer-living Americans have given rise to this shortfall: Less taxes paid into the system and more older workers signing up for benefits is not a sustainable combination. Without quick and effective reform, Social Security's fund will be exhausted by 2037. This cannot happen.
There must be a bi-partisan commitment to fixing Social Security to ensure benefits for today’s seniors and to all those who will rely on it in the future. I believe that everyone 55 or older should remain in the current benefits program. For all others, the eligibility age for obtaining benefits should gradually be raised to reflect the increasing life expectancy that we are fortunate to enjoy today. First and foremost, we must preserve benefits for retirees, and we must not increase taxes in a misguided attempt to solve the problem. Increased taxes only serve to further repress our economy and keep the unemployment rate high. Higher taxes are not a solution to the Social Security, or any other, problem we face.
Fixing Social Security demands real leadership in Washington and a commitment to bi-partisan dialogue and consensus about how to make the program whole. As Congressman, my priorities are to preserve benefits while working towards the solvency of this essential program.
Please make sure you READ the Chicago Tribune's Editorial on my stance on Social Security.
Like Social Security, Medicare is on precarious ground, with recent reports indicating insolvency as soon as 2017. This, too, we cannot let happen.
To ensure the survival of this critical program for our children and grandchildren, we must make necessary reforms now. These changes should include neither cuts in benefits nor tax increases. First, we must take strong action to cut waste, fraud, and abuse that cheats Medicare out of millions of dollars annually. A bi-partisan effort to find broad solutions to Medicare that will lower health care costs and increase access to services for beneficiaries is essential.
I am deeply concerned that the new health care legislation will hurt American seniors. I am proud of my vote in the House in January 2011 to repeal the legislation entirely. From the beginning, I opposed the recently-passed healthcare reform for many reasons, including the fact that it cut $500 billion in Medicare benefits and transferred that money to pay for new federal healthcare bureaucracies. According to Medicare’s Chief Actuary, the health care law will force more than seven million Americans to lose their current Medicare Advantage plans, and the law's other provisions will result in less generous benefit packages. Even so, a highly partisan and piece-meal approach proposed by the current Majority Party simply is not enough reform and merely kicks the can down the road to bankruptcy. We need serious bipartisan leadership on this issue and must work together to solve this problem.
We must stop the current path toward bankruptcy and re-commit ourselves to ensuring the future of Social Security and Medicare. In Congress, I will consider any serious proposal or solution and commit myself to bi-partisan leadership to ensure the availability of Social Security and Medicare benefits for current and future generations.
