US Representative Joseph Crowley, D NY tells City Island Images that with negotiations over the debt ceiling and deficit in the news, he wanted to let us all know that protecting Social Security and Medicare is his top priority. The congressman is proud to continue the fight to preserve these essential programs for today's seniors and future generations.
Social Security and Medicare form the backbone of our nation's commitment to seniors. Over 44 million Americans receive health care coverage from Medicare and 54 million Americans receive income support from Social Security. Seniors earn these benefits by paying into the Medicare and Social Security programs over a lifetime of hard work.
Unfortunately, under the guise of balancing the budget and as a hostage in the debt-ceiling negotiations, he says these vital social safety nets are under attack by Republicans in Congress. Like all Americans, he is concerned about our nation's deficit. However, there are common sense solutions that will allow us to meet our financial obligations and do not include slashing support for Social Security and Medicare. For example, he believes Congress should end wasteful subsidies that benefit the nation's largest oil companies, close overseas tax loopholes and eliminate the Bush tax breaks for the wealthiest 2% of Americans – a move that would reduce our deficit by at least $700 billion.
Our readers may also be interested to know that he recently introduced legislation to provide seniors with a one-time cost of living adjustment of $250 for 2011. His legislation would ensure that 2011 will not be the first time ever that two years have passed since retirees and other beneficiaries receive an automatic increase in their Social Security benefits to account for higher costs of living
Crowley feels that after a lifetime of work and service, seniors deserve to retire with peace of mind and comfort in knowing that their hard earned benefits will be there for them. You can be sure that he will keep up the fight to protect and preserve Social Security and Medicare for seniors today and future generations of Americans.
If there are any additional issues or questions you would like City Island Images to ask the congressman, or any other public official, please contact imaginus.news@gmail.com questions, comments or concerns.