Tennant Touts Importance of Medicare, Social Security in Charles Town

Press Release

West Virginia Secretary of State and U.S. Senate nominee Natalie Tennant today hosted a roundtable discussion with West Virginia seniors to highlight the critical importance of Medicare and Social Security to West Virginia seniors.

Today's roundtable was one of many that Tennant has hosted across West Virginia to hear directly from West Virginians about the pressing issues facing their communities.

Tennant says that she will fight everyday in the United States Senate to protect and strengthen Medicare and Social Security.

"When I think of Medicare and Social Security, I think of my 86-year old Dad back on the farm and the thousands of other West Virginia seniors just like him who depend on Medicare and Social Security. After a lifetime of work, we owe it to our seniors to ensure that a promise made is a promise kept. I believe that cutting Medicare and privatizing Social Security should never be on the table, and I will stand up for our seniors everyday in the United States Senate," Tennant said.

Today's event comes just one day after the 49th anniversary of Medicare's passage. Tennant pointed to statistics showing how Medicare and Social Security are critical to the health and well being of West Virginia seniors, who make up 25 percent of the state's population.

Medicare

Nearly 400,000 West Virginia seniors are enrolled in Medicare.
49% of West Virginians who are 200% below the poverty line use Medicare

Social Security

Social Security lifts 113,000 West Virginia seniors out of poverty.
For one-third of West Virginians over the age of 65, Social Security is their only source of income.

The contrast in this election could not be clearer. While Secretary Tennant will stand up for West Virginia seniors and protect the benefits they have earned, Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito has a long record of trying to end Medicare as we know it and championing Wall Street's Social Security plan.

Just this year, Congresswoman Capito voted, for the FOURTH consecutive year, in support of the extreme Ryan Budget, which would turn Medicare into a voucher program. The Ryan Budget is good news for millionaires like Congresswoman Capito, but bad news for West Virginia seniors who depend on Medicare:

The Ryan Budget forces 276,000 West Virginia seniors to pay $800 more to keep their Medicare.
The Ryan Budget forces 39,000 West Virginia seniors to pay hundreds and eventually thousands more for their prescription drugs.

What's more, the extreme budget that Congresswoman Capito supports hands millionaires a tax break of $200,000 -- while balancing the budget on the backs of West Virginia seniors.

And when it comes to Social Security, Congresswoman Capito's record is equally as appalling. Congresswoman Capito has a long history of supporting Social Security privatization, a dangerous and reckless scheme that allows Wall Street millionaires like her husband to gamble away West Virginia's retirement in the stock market:

Capito, as recently as 2011, voted against legislation that would prevent Social Security from being privatized. [HJR 48, Vote 178, 2/15/11]
Capito refused to sign a pledge in 2006 to stop President Bush from privatizing Social Security. [Charleston Gazette, 9/14/06]
Capito Continued to vocally support privatization through 2004, calling it a "solution we should look at." [Charleston Daily Mail, 11/29/04]
Congresswoman Capito was a vocal supporter of President Bush's plans to privatize Social Security during her first campaign in 2000, even saying it was a, "plus" for her campaign. [Charleston Daily Mail, 8/2/00]

To top it off, earlier this month Congresswoman Capito was quoted in The Hill proactively praising Congressman Paul Ryan's position on Social Security. Like Capito, Congressman Ryan supports privatizing Social Security.

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