Congress Needs to Get Past Politics and Fix Social Security, Medicare (Rep. Virginia Foxx)

The Social Security trustees’ report is a wakeup call to Congress. Our social security system is shattered and Medicare is on the brink of insolvency.  In fact, for the first time the trustees have issued a Medicare funding warning that calls for immediate action from the President and Congress.

The whole system is on the path to financial crisis and every Member of Congress must summon the courage to move past political games and fix this problem once and for all.

But in their FY08 budget proposal, Democrats did not meaningfully address the coming crisis.  Thus, as another year slips away, it becomes even more difficult and more painful to fix the structural problems in Social Security and Medicare.

If real reform is delayed much longer we will have a true crisis on our hands.  Congress must take a hard look at the challenges facing Social Security and Medicare.  Political posturing and pandering to special interests should have no place in our discussion of how to ensure that Social Security and Medicare are here for both our grandchildren and today’s retirees.

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