Issue Position: Social Security and Medicare

Issue Position

In 1965, Congress passed and President Lyndon Johnson signed the bill that created Medicare, thereby cementing the promise to our seniors first made by Franklin D. Roosevelt when he established Social Security in 1935. The multi-generational commitment of Social Security and Medicare is a foundation of our social contract, and a defining feature of our national prosperity. Underlying these programs is the deeply rooted belief that all seniors, the people who supported our families and developed our communities, deserve the dignity for a secure retirement and affordable health care.

Similarly, as our nation's health insurance program for people age 65 and older, Medicare is a component of our government's comprehensive efforts to ensure all Americans a safe and secure retirement. I am committed to safeguarding Medicare from efforts to transform the program into a voucher system, shifting costs to seniors and our most vulnerable citizens. While we must address rising health care costs that threaten Medicare's long-term sustainability, I will defend the Medicare guarantee so that no senior will ever have to choose between heating their homes and maintaining their health.

So as it is our duty to honor the generations that came before us and worked to secure our freedom, it is also our duty to provide critical safety nets that help our older generation retire with dignity.

I am thus committed to protecting and enhancing Social Security and Medicare for this and future generations, and will work to fend off efforts to dismantle the basic structure of these programs. While I recognize that we need to address our fiscal challenges, it is paramount that we fulfill the promise made to our seniors.

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