Seniors
I am committed to safeguarding programs important to our seniors such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
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Social Security
Social Security is an essential social safety net, providing critical income to more than 53 million retirees, workers with disabilities, spouses and their children. I strongly oppose efforts to make huge cuts to social security in an effort to balance our budget and I believe that such efforts are misguided and morally wrong; we must not balance the budget on the backs of our seniors and the vulnerable.
Additionally, Congresswoman Lee believes that we have an obligation to meet the needs of our seniors by providing an annual Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA). The COLA accounts for an entire year of change in the cost of living and is added into the annual benefit. She commends the Social Security Administration for providing a COLA for 2012 after two straight years without one. Congresswoman Lee will continue to fight for a COLA because she knows that when costs rise and their fixed income doesn’t keep pace with inflation, seniors have less every month.
Lastly, Congresswoman Lee strongly oppose any efforts to privatize Social Security and believe that there are simple solutions to safeguard social security without reducing benefits.
Fighting Cuts to Seniors in the Ryan Budget
Congresswoman Lee is committed to safeguarding programs important to our seniors such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. For this reason I strongly opposed the Ryan budget because it would end Medicare as we know it. Instead, she cosponsored the Progressive Caucus’ Budget For All which would prevent any cuts to Medicare physician payments for a decade, providing a firm foundation to plan and establish a strong, permanent healthcare system that provides people with the health services they need while giving physicians fair payments.
Additionally, the Budget For All would safeguard Social Security for the next 75 years by eliminating the individual Social Security payroll cap to make sure upper income earners pay their fair share and increasing benefits based on higher contributions on the employee side. Almost 75,000 residents of the 9th District receive the guaranteed benefits of Social Security, and Congresswoman Lee is committed to making sure it stays that way.