Issue Positions: Medicare and Social Security

Issue Position

Issue Positions: Medicare and Social Security

Born, raised, and educated in the State of Montana, I'm the son of Don and Hazel Bushman, and one of twelve children born to them. I was a junior in high school when my father died of cancer. My mom, who was a stay-at-home mom at the time, still had eight children to care for ranging from seven to 17 years old. Social Security was instrumental to my family's welfare. My mom, who began working after my Dad was diagnosed and is still working today in her early seventies, showed amazing courage and fortitude; she is an inspiration to me, and there is no way I am going to deny her and other people like her, the benefits they have worked so hard for and so rightly deserve.

However, the Medicare and Social Security systems are in dire straits. Economist and accountants alike are predicting the bankruptcy of both Medicare and Social Security. Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernake testified that the right time to start working on the problem was ten years ago. Once again partisan politics has failed Montanans and Americans. Career politicians refuse to address these crucial issues. They are more worried about re-election losses than the long-term health of the country; they're sacrificing our future for their own political gain. As a 28-year member of the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over these issues, Max Baucus has failed to lead the United States Senate in addressing these challenges that are absolutely critical to our country's fiscal health and brought these programs to the brink of destruction. I will work tirelessly to make these programs viable and financially responsible.

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