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We are beginning to make progress in creating a government that works for all people, and not just the very wealthy. But we still have a very long way to go.

By now you’ve heard the big headlines. The $1,400 direct payments, the massive expansion of the child tax credit, the extension of unemployment benefits and the production and distribution of tens of millions of vaccine doses that are desperately needed if we are to crush this pandemic.

What you might not have heard is that we have made primary health care far more accessible by doubling funding for Community Health Centers and tripling funding to get doctors, dentists and nurses into medically underserved areas. We have also substantially increased funding for afterschool and summer programming for kids who have been stuck at home for the past year, who will now be able to do activities this summer.

These are major steps forward.

But in this time of unprecedented crises, it is not enough. Joe Biden knows that, I know that and you know that.

The agenda the president laid out in his speech on Wednesday gives Congress a good road map, but we need to go further if we are going to seriously combat the enormous economic, health and environmental crises facing our country.

As Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, I’ll take a lead role in helping to draft much of this legislation. I look forward to hearing from you as to what should be in this multi-trillion dollar bill.

But right now, I wanted to talk with you about one area I will be especially focused on.

It is outrageous that more than fifty years after Medicare was enacted, seniors still do not receive basic hearing, vision and dental coverage. Many seniors are left unable to see because they can’t afford eyeglasses, unable to hear because they can’t afford hearing aids and have trouble eating because they can’t afford dentures.

It is also time to acknowledge that we must lower Medicare eligibility for the millions of older workers who are in desperate need of health care.

It is the moment for a Democratic president and a Democratic Congress to do what the American people want. We must expand Medicare benefits and lower the age of Medicare eligibility. Using our majority to take this step is not only the right thing to do for the American people — it’s good politics as well.

These steps might seem expensive, and they are. But here is something amazing. We can pay for the entire cost of these additions to Medicare, by allowing the program to negotiate the cost of prescription drugs.

As incredible as it sounds, the Medicare program is not allowed by law to negotiate with drug companies over the cost of medications seniors purchase. The lobbying power of the big drug companies means they are ripping off the government and charging the American people any price they want. Not only that. Because of the power of the pharmaceutical industry, all Americans are forced to pay — by far — the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. This absurdity must end.

Negotiating drug prices is what every other major country on earth does. The Veterans Administration does it. Only Medicare is prohibited from taking this obvious step.

This is the very definition of a win-win-win situation. Seniors pay lower prices for prescription drugs and receive hearing, vision and dental care. Millions more Americans become eligible to participate in the Medicare program. And we lower prescription drug costs for all Americans.

It’s almost insane to think that we would have to fight for these obvious steps. But we must. That is why I will be calling on you in the next few weeks to take action to support the expansion of Medicare.

So, in the days and weeks ahead, it is incumbent upon all of us to make our voices heard. Because the only way we win is when we stand together and fight back.

We are making progress. But in this pivotal moment we have the opportunity to advance our cause more than at any time in recent history.

In solidarity,

Bernie Sanders

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