Keeping our promise to American seniors
We must protect and defend Social Security and Medicare
For a 17 year old earning their first paycheck, seeing a Social Security/Medicare deduction can be quite the surprise and lead to some questions. Questions like, “Where does this money go? When will I get it back?” What these first-time workers might not realize is how grateful they’ll be sixty years from now when that Social Security payment is the most secure part of their retirement. And that Medicare provides health care to make sure they stay healthy in their old age. It’s a long-term investment, but it only works if our government upholds its end of the deal.
Social Security + Medicare
There are some issues that come up on the campaign trail no matter where you are in Arizona. One of them is Social Security and Medicare. I’ll never forget the time a man approached me while I was visiting a senior center in Parker and told me his story. After retirement, he and his wife had relied on her pension and his Social Security to cover their bills. It worked for a time, but then his wife passed away. Suddenly, he was alone, he couldn’t collect her pension, and his $757 check from Social Security was his only source of income every month. He told me how worried he was about that Social Security check getting smaller or going away entirely, and what that would mean for him. It was clear from the look on his face just how scared he was that the government might not have his back.
Just like the man I met in Parker, there are more than 1 million people in Arizona who receive Social Security, many of whom rely on it to help pay their bills. With more than 1.3 million Arizonans on Medicare, a lot of them depend on it for affordable health care. As a country, we made a promise to American workers that as long as they paid into these programs over the course of their lifetimes, we would protect their health and well-being once they retired. Now, Washington politicians are threatening to break that promise.
This year, the administration announced that it wanted to cut about $500 billion from Medicare over the next ten years, in an effort to reduce the deficit created by the Republican tax bill that gave the wealthiest Americans and big corporations a tax break. Other politicians have proposed turning Medicare into a voucher program, opening the market to private insurance companies and driving up costs for seniors. And on top of all that, the administration keeps trying to cut Social Security — including $10 billion from part of the program that supports workers with disabilities. It’s just not right.
Keeping Our Promise
I’m running for Senate because Arizona workers pay a lifetime into programs like Medicare and Social Security, and Washington politicians aren’t holding up their end of the bargain. Folks in Washington are more interested in party politics than getting the job done. We promised American workers that Social Security and Medicare would be waiting for them at the end of their careers, but that promise has become more and more uncertain every day. Arizonans need an independent voice in Washington who will push past the party politics to get things done.
When I’m elected Senator, I’ll:
- Fight to protect and defend Social Security and Medicare from government cuts. We made a promise to our nation’s workers, and it’s time that Washington learned how to keep it.
- Direct Medicare to negotiate down prescription drug prices. The price of prescription drugs has gotten out of hand, and by tying Medicare’s hands, Washington is preventing the program from negotiating down prescription drug prices for Arizonans.
- Cap out-of-pocket costs for seniors enrolled in Medicare Part-D. Right now, a sudden illness or spike in drug costs can bankrupt seniors. We can and should change that.
Whether you’re 17 or 67 years old, you should be on a path to retire with dignity. That means getting the Social Security payment you’ve paid into your entire career and access to the quality, affordable health care you deserve. But protecting these programs and defending them from further cuts won’t be easy, and Washington politicians have already made it clear that they’re not up to the task. Arizonans need an independent voice representing them in the Senate so that promises made to American workers can’t be broken.
