As we prepare for Thanksgiving, we gather with our loved ones and reflect on all that we’re thankful for—family, friends, faith and belief. It’s important, too, that in thinking of these things, we reaffirm the promises we’ve made. From caring for loved ones to taking care of our friends and neighbors, this is the season we highlight all we are thankful and gracious for and we honor those who have given to us. To me, this means reaffirming the promise to care for our seniors and veterans, our working families and our small businesses that employ and provide for us. We should all take this time to make sure we’re doing the absolute most we can for those who, far too often, have the very least.
It’s important that we remind our seniors that Medicare’s Open Enrollment Season ends on December 7th. This period will allow those on Medicare and Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans to look at all available plans and make a choice that is best for them. Not every income or situation is the same, so by giving seniors the opportunity to find the very best care for whatever their situation may be, at a cost that works, will help ensure their safety and well being.
Even if you’re perfectly happy with the plan you’ve got, taking a look at your options and making sure the plan you are on gives you the best price for your prescriptions can save you money. With health care costs rising, it’s important to ensure that you get the best coverage, and I hope many of you will take advantage of this open enrollment period.
The promise we’ve made to care for our seniors is one that I’ve always believed we must keep, no matter what. When I think back on my parents and grandparents and all of the folks in my community that helped raise me—the “Greatest Generation”—I’m reminded of all of the sacrifices they made, from the battle fields of war to the mills and factories that built our economies. They wanted to leave the world a little bit better than they found it, and through that, our nation became what it is today.
There will never be one single way to repay them, but preserving the sanctity of Social Security and Medicare and Veterans benefits is one way we can keep our word. During this “Lame Duck” congressional session, I’ll continue to fight any plan that jeopardizes those promises or leaves our seniors shortchanged. They don’t deserve that—they deserve our thanks.
Also this season, we should not only reflect on those who came before us, but also those who will come after us. Our children and grandchildren face some serious trying times, even before many of them are born. Our growing debt and deficit remains not only the biggest threat to our national security, but also the biggest threat to our young people and their future. As we work to rein in spending, we must not drastically cut funding for elementary education, higher education, work-study programs or apprenticeships. We need to do our absolute best to help build a generation that has every single tool they need to find success, both in school and thereafter.
When we educate our young people and prepare them for careers in the industries of tomorrow, we provide them with a gift that not many before us were lucky to have. When we end these bad trade deals and work to balance our trade deficit with cheating nations like China or Vietnam, we provide an even larger pool of opportunity for our workers of today—and our workers of the future. Our folks don’t want anything more than a fair shot. If we level all playing fields and our workers and students go head to head with anyone in the world—we’ll win. We always have, and we always will, because we have the American spirit and ingenuity that allows us to do the unthinkable. Just like our parents and grandparents did.
This Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for many things—my family, my faith, my friends and all of you who I am so honored to represent. But I’m also hopeful. I’m hopeful that we can continue to push our nation down the right path and end the wayward ways of partisanship and wrongheadedness that so often keeps us apart. Whether it’s the bickering in Washington or any disagreement or judgment in our homes or communities that keeps us from simply thanking one another, I’m hopeful it will end. I’m honored to represent you, and I hope you’ll take a moment, this week—and every week—and say a simple “thank you” to those who are important in your life. So, thank you and happy Thanksgiving.
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