Issue Position: Social Security and Medicare

Issue Position

Social Security and Medicare

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.

Social Security

The Social Security program currently provides a vital foundation of support for 56 million Americans. It is an earned benefit for workers who have paid in over the years. I know how important Social Security is to the seniors, survivors of deceased workers, and disabled workers who rely on it for economic security, which is why the program must be protected, and its sustainability ensured, for the future. I am committed to working in a bipartisan fashion to preserve Social Security so that our children and grandchildren will not be denied the program's promise when they retire and need it.

A number of demographic and economic factors are putting pressure on the basic structure of the program, and it is important for responsible leaders to acknowledge that Social Security's current path is not sustainable in the long-term. In 2010 and 2011, Social Security actually paid out more in benefits than it took in, and by 2037, the Social Security trust fund is expected to be fully depleted and insolvent. According to the Social Security Administration, doing nothing to address this problem will inevitably lead to 23% cuts in 2037 -- meaning that Social Security will only provide beneficiaries with 77 cents for every dollar promised.

In protecting and strengthening Social Security for the future, I am guided by two key principles: (1) we should not make any structural changes that affect those currently 55 and older; and (2) we should do our best to minimize the impact of any changes, by providing adequate advance time for America's taxpayers and future beneficiaries to prepare. The good news is that there is enough time left to put Social Security on a sustainable path for the long-term through bipartisan legislative fixes that are phased-in gradually.

I believe the responsible approach is to address the shortfalls in Social Security sooner, rather than delaying until the program's inevitable insolvency gets so close that more dramatic changes are forced on the American people. As such, I am open to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to take the steps necessary to save Social Security, such as scheduling a gradual raise in the retirement age in the future that does not impact those currently 55 and older. I am also open to finding savings by making modest changes that provide less support to higher income earners in the future.

Ultimately, ensuring the promise of Social Security is going to require reasonable politicians on both sides of the aisle who have the courage to come together and work to put the program on a sustainable path for the future.

Medicare

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 over $700 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.

Conclusion

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.

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