Issue Position: Protecting Our Seniors

Issue Position

Social Security and Medicare are vital programs to ensure every American has a measure of comfort and peace of mind in their retirement years. For generations, these programs have helped millions of seniors, but politicians from both parties have been unwilling and unable to display the political pragmatism necessary to safeguard both these programs.

The reality is that Medicare and Social Security costs are increasing dramatically as Americans live longer. Current projections that take into account retiring baby boomers and soaring healthcare costs predict that the cost of these programs will soon exceed total government revenue.

We need to save and stabilize these vital programs by installing thoughtful, intelligent solutions:

1. Ensure that anyone retired or soon to retire gets the benefits they earned. We must keep those promises we've made to our seniors.

2. Gradually raise the age of retirement from 65 to 67. As younger Americans live longer, we can gradually raise the age of retirement, saving billions.

3. Introduce consumer choice and innovation into Medicare. We need to gradually introduce a model that gives seniors more control over how their healthcare dollars are spent.

4. Focus Social Security resources one the neediest before the wealthiest. Millionaires don't need the same social security safety net as people less well off.

5. Enact the bi-partisan recommendations of Simpson-Bowles. There are solutions to our looming crisis in entitlements, but we need the political will to overcome hyper-partisanship in D.C. to implement them.

Maria Cantwell hasn't presented any solutions that would protect these programs, opposing many of the entitlement reform recommendations made by the Simpson-Bowles commission that were intended to keep these programs solvent for the future.

Cantwell can't keep the promises we've made to seniors and future generations. Together, you and I will.

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