U.S. Representative Ed Royce

There are many issues impacting the lives seniors from retirement to Social Security to the rising cost of health care.

Social Security will stand as it is for many years to come and current and soon-to-be retirees do not have to worry about it not being there them. Congress is committed to ensuring the health of our Social Security system.

I would like to see Social Security be there for future generations. The first thing that needs to be done is to preserve Social Security and stop spending money on other unnecessary programs. Another aspect of preserving Social Security is working to cut out the waste, fraud and abuse associated with the administering of Social Security itself.

If the current Social Security system were maintained as it is, it would not provide future generations with an adequate retirement. At best it would make an already low pension only marginally better. This is why I want to encourage saving and investing for retirement. Now is the time to fix this problem, so younger Americans are able to live more comfortably in their retirement years.

Medicare will be a greater challenge. Medicare's total unfunded obligations, are estimated to be over $30 trillion. Taxpayers and beneficiaries will be faced with enormous burdens in trying to sustain the Medicare program as it is today. I am fighting for long-term changes in Medicare that will update the program and protect its beneficiaries. I support empowering beneficiaries to choose the health care plan that best fits their own needs. I want to maintain and increase Medicare beneficiaries' range of options. We need a Medicare system that offers choices and competition among health plans, and has less bureaucracy, more efficiency, and lower costs.

We must put Social Security and Medicare on a fiscally responsible path, address their unfunded liabilities, and ensure they can continue to meet the needs of future generations of seniors.