U.S. Representative Mike Kelly (PA-03) issued the following statement on AARP's recent Medicare advertising campaign and its misrepresentation of the facts:
"As one of the oldest members of the freshman Congressional class, I can tell you that there are few issues as important to me as protecting our seniors. That is why I am supporting efforts to preserve, improve and protect Medicare for current and future beneficiaries.
"The truth is that something has to be done to fix Medicare, which its own actuaries say will go bankrupt in 2024 and which the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office says will run out of money even sooner.
"The recent ad run by AARP is yet another example of the rampant misinformation that has surrounded this critical public policy debate. Let me be clear, reforming Medicare is an either/or proposition. Either we fix it now, or it falls apart tomorrow.
"Even the New York Times recently acknowledged that, "Sooner or later, Democrats will have to admit that Medicare cannot keep running as it is -- its medical costs are out of control .'
"I agree with the AARP that the wasteful and fraudulent spending taking place in Washington needs to be addressed, but to suggest that this, in and of itself, is the solution to our spending and debt problems is inaccurate.
"It's time to stop playing politics with this important issue and focus on the facts, as the Washington Post article below has so clearly articulated."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/aarps-misleading-ad-about-balancing-the-budget/2011/06/17/AGQKRsYH_blog.html