Social Security
Fighting to preserve Social Security and Medicare for our nation’s seniors!
Congressman Bob Filner has been at the forefront of the fight to preserve Social Security and Medicare for our nation’s seniors.
During the current economic crisis, Social Security has been the safety net that has saved millions of American seniors who have faced increasing costs and few options. Congressman Filner strongly opposed proposals in recent years to privatize Social Security which would have placed seniors’ retirement security at the mercy of the stock market’s ups and downs. Gambling our retirement on Wall Street would have left Social Security decimated — along with the retirees, widows, and disabled Americans who rely on it.
Bob wants to strengthen Social Security and make it work better for its beneficiaries. Many seniors have noticed that, due to the way that the annual Social Security cost of living adjustment (COLA) is calculated, they have received no increase in their benefits for two years, even though the real costs of things like home heating fuel, gasoline, groceries, medicines, and other essentials have continued to rise.
Bob supports giving seniors a one-time payment to offset the lack of a COLA in 2010 and 2011. He also wants to prevent this situation from happening again. That is why Bob has co-sponsored the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers Act, which will calculate an annual Social Security COLA based on the rising costs of expenses that affect Americans who are age 62 or over.
Bob also believes that the Social Security and Medicare Trust Fund should be used only to pay for Social Security and Medicare benefits. The government should protect our nation’s seniors by not dipping into the Trust Funds to finance foreign wars and other spending needs.