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Senior Citizen Politics
State of the Union for America's Senior Citizens is
Anything But Strong, Says Advocate
Reaction by Barbara B. Kennelly of National
Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
 Jan. 29, 2008 One head of a senior advocacy group
charged after last nights State of the Union address that "For seven
years this Administration has either attacked or neglected the programs
that benefit older adults. Tonight's State of the Union address confirms
that there will be no aging epiphany in the remainder of President
Bush's last year in office.
Barbara B. Kennelly, President/CEO The National
Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, issued her list of
things President Bush should have said.
Statement by Kennelly issued after the speech:
The President talked about the economy tonight but
for seniors there was much left unsaid. Here are just a few facts the
President did not include in his State of the Union address:
Seniors Deserve
Stimulus Help
While the President touts the need for a timely,
targeted and temporary stimulus package, he doesn't mention that the
nation's largest growing demographic, seniors, was virtually ignored in
the initial stimulus proposal. That's in spite of the fact that senior
households currently spend 92% of their income each year.
Many retirees live check to check and would
immediately spend any rebate they receive. They should be included in
any plan to pump billions of dollars into the economy as quickly as
possible yet the White House has called efforts to include seniors
living on their Social Security checks 'political gamesmanship'.
America isn't
facing an 'entitlement' crises it's facing budget and healthcare crises:
Continuing to lump together the unique challenges
facing Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid under the umbrella of
'entitlement reform' is a political strategy designed to persuade the
American people to privatize these popular programs or accept massive
benefit cuts rather than address seven years of borrow and spend
policies which have left us with budget deficits and record debt.
Tonight the President turned the issue over to
Congress. Hopefully others will find reasonable solutions for these
programs vital to American seniors.
Big Medicare
Cuts Are Coming for Seniors But Insurer Subsidies Are Being Protected:
The President also didn't talk tonight about the
mandatory, arbitrary, and draconian cuts scheduled to hit millions of
seniors who depend on the Medicare program.
Thanks to a little known provision in the 2003
Medicare privatization law, the federal budget this year will include
cuts to limit government spending in Medicare to an arbitrary 45%
threshold.
Incredibly, at the same time seniors will face
these massive benefit cuts, private insurers will collect billions in
Medicare subsidies paid for with taxpayer dollars. Rather than work to
reign in the costs of healthcare nationwide, or strengthen programs
keeping millions from poverty, seniors will face losing benefits while
at the same time private insurers in Medicare will collect billions in
subsidies and record profits.
Retirees who live on fixed incomes are feeling the
pinch of rising costs, threatened benefits and a shaky economy. That is
the State of the Union for American seniors. Unfortunately, nothing
President Bush said tonight will help them sleep any easier."
Editors Notes:
The National Committee to Preserve Social Security
and Medicare says it is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization acts in
the interests of its membership through advocacy, education, services,
grassroots efforts and the leadership of the Board of Directors and
professional staff. The work of the National Committee is directed
toward developing better-informed citizens and voters.
Barbara B. Kennelly became President and Chief
Executive Officer of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security
and Medicare in April 2002, after a distinguished 23-year career in
elected public office. The Congresswoman served eight terms in the U.S.
House of Representatives representing the First District of Connecticut.
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