Hillary Rodham Clinton (D)
The Social Security program is our nation's solemn pledge that Americans can and will grow older with dignity. It is not just a retirement program; almost one-third of the beneficiaries of the Social Security system are severely disabled workers, children, survivors of workers who've died in an untimely manner.
The debate about Social Security is not some abstract discussion that affects older people, the debate about Medicare is not somebody else's health care needs; it is how we all take care of each other and how we each fulfill our obligations to both the younger and the older generation. I want you to think that every other woman you see who is over 65 would be living below the poverty line if it were not for Social Security. For a quarter of our older women, Social Security is the only income they receive. And Medicare is critically important to women, as recipients and as caregivers.
It’s essential that Congress answer the President’s challenge to preserve enough of the surplus to protect Social Security and Medicare, and to add a prescription drug benefit. There are 2.7 million Medicare beneficiaries in New York today. By the year 2025, a year that Medicare would be insolvent if we don’t act, there will be 3.3 million New York seniors on Medicare, a thirty-eight percent increase. There are roughly 2 million seniors who have no significant prescription drug benefits. I think we can do better by seniors in New York and throughout America by strengthening Medicare and including prescription drug benefits. Health security and retirement security should go hand in hand.