OH-16: John Boccieri Calls for Protecting Social Security

Boccieri Calls for Protecting Social Security on 73rd Anniversary

Boccieri's complete plan is available on his campaign website. (Click here to read the full plan.)

Boccieri said today:

"I will fight in Congress to keep Social Security strong for future generations and protect it from politicians who want to privatize it and hand it over to Wall Street."

Since the enactment of the Social Security Act, poverty rates among America's seniors have fallen from over 35% to under 10%. Contrary to the claims of alarmists, Social Security as currently structured will continue to pay full benefits until at least 2046 according to the Congressional Budget Office.

In Congress, Boccieri will take careful steps to secure the benefits of Social Security for future generations with minimal impact on taxpayers or beneficiaries today. His plan to support America's seniors also calls for:

Helping workers save for retirement
Enhancing pension protections
Strengthening and improving Medicare
Fixing America's broken health care system
Improving the quality and affordability of long-term care
Helping seniors with high heating costs

Boccieri has been a strong supporter of seniors in the state legislature, fighting to protect pensions, reduce prescription drug costs and improve in-home health care and nursing home care.

Opponent Kirk Schuring has not only voted to raise the retirement age, strip half a billion dollars from state pension funds, and block lower prescription drug costs for seniors, but actually sponsored legislation to eliminate privacy protections for Golden Buckeye cardholders by releasing their names to the public. Schuring was the only State Representative to vote against the Golden Buckeye program to negotiate lower drug prices for seniors.

This would make for a good opportunity for a "comparison and contrast", but Schuring does not even acknowledge Social Security on his web-site.

Senator Major John Boccieri(D-Alliance) drives home the importance of this issue to all of us:

"With two parents who are retired, this is a personal issue for me. We need to support our citizens who have worked hard and given back to their communities their entire lives."

Does Kirk Schuring even care about the elderly?