Lentz Discusses Social Security, Medicare, Debt Reduction At Town Hall With Seniors

Press Release

Representative Bryan Lentz, the Democratic nominee for Congress in Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District, hosted a town hall forum for seniors in Upper Darby today.

Upper Darby forum with SeniorsThe hour-long event drew about 50 people to American Legion Post 214 in Upper Darby. In a 45-minute question and answer session that was part of the event, Lentz responded to the concerns of those who attended the meeting on a range of issues, including Social Security, helping reduce the cost of health care and cutting the debt.

"Protecting our Seniors and the benefits they have earned should be our number one priority," Lentz said. "These issues are too important for partisan politics because it is the national obligation of every American to honor those who came before us. It doesn't matter if you are a Democrat or a Republican, we should all be able to agree on that."

Lentz stressed that his solutions for fixing the challenges facing the nation diverged greatly from his Republican opponent, Pat Meehan. Lentz said Meehan favored tax policies that encouraged companies to ship jobs overseas, and that he was part of a Party that supported radical changes to Social Security and Medicare.

"He is a member of a Party that has already made a decision to increase the age of Social Security and to cut and privatize portions of Medicare and Social Security," Lentz said. "I disagree with that approach. I disagree with making that decision before we've even had a debate" over what's the best way to fix the problem, he added.

Meehan maintains close ties to prominent Republicans who want to reduce benefits for Seniors and put their Social Security benefits at risk in the stock market, Lentz said. Republican Minority Leader John Boehner, who supports raising the nation's retirement age to 70, recently donated $10,000 to Meehan's campaign. Meehan was also the former campaign manager of Rick Santorum, one of the most outspoken supporters of privatizing Social Security.

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