CHICAGO,
IL – U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) today said that seniors
are united against President Bush’s privatization schemes guaranteed to
lower Social Security benefits and cut Medicare services.
At
the Alden North Shore in Skokie, where Schakowsky met and answered questions
from seniors, she said, “Social Security and Medicare are two of the most
successful programs in the history of our country, and they are being threatened.
With low administrative costs, theses programs have been able to provide
a basic level of financial and health security to seniors, persons with
disabilities, and families.”
“President
Bush has failed to put forward a serious prescription drug plan for seniors
and is proposing major changes that will increase administrative costs,
promote privatization, and cut benefits under Social Security and Medicare,”
Schakowsky added.
Following
her meeting with seniors in Skokie, Schakowsky was the Keynote speaker
at the Metro Seniors in Action luncheon. Schakowsky discussed
the political climate in Washington and the Democrats taking control of
the Senate following the decision by Senator Jim Jeffords (I-VT) to become
an Independent. She also focused on the impact of the tax cut on
funding for current and future vital social programs, including a prescription
drug benefit under Medicare.
“We
need to educate, mobilize and organize. There are powerful forces
at work in the White House and Congress. If we let our guard down
for one moment, they will win. We will not let the Bush Administration
and the Republicans in Congress turn over Social Security to Wall Street
and Medicare to the HMOs,” Schakowsky said.
Finally,
Schakowsky joined AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, and other members of
Congress at a news conference to launch the Alliance for Retired Americans,
a new 2.5 million-member advocacy group supported by the AFL-CIO and community-based
organizations. The Chicago event is only one of more than 20
scheduled to take place throughout the nation demanding that Congress and
the President give seniors a prescription drug benefit under Medicare.
“We
believe that senior citizens are entitled to an affordable high quality
prescription drug benefit under Medicare. We also believe that doctors
know what’s best for their patients and that HMOs should not be in the
business of approving or denying prescriptions. Working with the Alliance,
we will deliver that message to Congress and to the White House, and we
will not rest until we are successful in our mission,” Schakowsky said. |