| Joe Biden will protect Social Security |
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| Dear John, |
During this historic presidential election year, the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare has decided to break with our 38-year tradition of steering clear of presidential campaigns by endorsing Joe Biden for President of the United States.
We are deeply concerned about the future of Social Security and Medicare under a 2nd term Donald Trump presidency. And that's why we're throwing our weight behind former Vice President Joe Biden — the stakes are simply too high for older Americans and the benefits they've earned during their lifetime of work!
In addition to President Trump's proposed cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid in his budget proposals, the National Committee strongly opposes the President's deferral of employee payroll taxes, the major funding source for workers' Social Security benefits. President Trump pledged to "terminate" payroll taxes in a second term, which Social Security's chief actuary said would bankrupt the retirement trust fund by 2023 — at which point the program would pay zero benefits.
I don't think President Trump has the foggiest idea how Social Security is funded. If he is re-elected and follows through on his scheme to eliminate payroll taxes, the entire Social Security program will be at risk.
As you know, the National Committee has deep roots in New Deal policies. And we were founded in 1982 by Congressman James Roosevelt, Sr., son of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt. His grandson, James Roosevelt, Jr., who serves as the Vice-Chairman of the National Committee's advisory board, had this to say about our endorsement:
"By enacting Social Security, my grandfather, President Franklin Roosevelt, gave workers the promise of dignity and financial security in retirement. Thirty years later, President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare into law, providing older Americans with affordable, accessible health insurance. There's a reason Social Security and Medicare have been around for 85 and 55 years respectively. Americans value and depend on them. My father and grandfather would be outraged that President Trump and his allies want to dismantle both programs. I am 100% behind the National Committee's decision to endorse Joe Biden, the candidate who can be trusted to protect seniors' earned benefits from any attempts to undermine or privatize them."
The Biden plan for Social Security would expand benefits, lifting an additional half a million seniors out of poverty by 2030. He wants to add dental, vision and hearing coverage to traditional Medicare — and reduce what seniors pay for prescription drugs by allowing the government to negotiate prices with Big Pharma. He has proposed a groundbreaking, $775 billion plan to assist caregivers for the elderly and children. Finally, the former Vice President would strengthen — not decimate — the Affordable Care Act.
There is no doubt that the most effective way to protect and strengthen the federal government's commitment to older Americans is to elect Joe Biden as president.
Sincerely, |
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Max Richtman
President & CEO
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