Before Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal and Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society, people in this country feared getting older. They feared being a burden to their children, and they feared not having the necessary means to provide for themselves later in life. Unfortunately, seniors today still have many of those same concerns, but government programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid have helped to lessen the worry.

As a Member of Congress, there are few things more important to me than ensuring that we maintain our commitment to our nation’s seniors. Unfortunately, we live in times where that commitment is threatened. Social Security is arguably the most successful government program in the history of the United States. It provides a financial safety net for all retirees and lifts many seniors out of poverty. Medicare helps seniors meet the inevitable health care expenses that tend to grow as we age. And Medicaid provides health care for the less fortunate of our communities.

Unfortunately, these critical programs are under attack in Washington. Earlier this year Congress passed the so-called Deficit Reduction Act, which will cut over $13 billion from health care programs, chiefly Medicare and Medicaid, by 2010. These cuts will undoubtedly reduce the quality of health care available to Americans, especially our seniors. As if that isn’t enough, through his recent budget proposal to Congress, the President is now asking for further cuts that would slash Medicare by $105 billion, and Medicaid by $43 billion over the next ten years.

And despite America’s outcry, the President continues to advocate his plan to privatize Social Security. By siphoning money away from the Social Security Trust Fund, this dangerous proposal of privatization will take away funds that should be dedicated to paying Social Security benefits.

Without the financial safety net of Social Security and the health care provided by Medicare and Medicaid, retirement would be a very different prospect for most Americans. We simply cannot go back to the days pre-dating Roosevelt and Johnson.

We must protect Social Security so that the seniors of this country will have a means for retirement. We must protect Medicare so that healthcare providers will not deny service to Medicare patients. And we must protect Medicaid so the least fortunate of this country will have access to vital medical treatment.

I am committed to working in Congress to strengthening the social programs of this country that distinguish America from the rest of the world. Programs designed to take care of our own. Programs that the citizens of this country deserve.

July 2006