Published on Concord Patch on July 31, 2012.
The Political Action Committee of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare endorsed Democratic Ann McLane Kuster on July 31, in her race to unseat U.S. Rep. Charles Bass, R-NH, the current representative for the Second Congressional District.
Phillip Rotondi, a representative of the organization, said the group was bipartisan and made up of millions of Americans who want the entitlement programs preserved and strengthened, not cut, changed, privatized, or used for deficit reduction. He stated that Social Security currently had a surplus of $2.5 trillion and current seniors had paid into the program with the promise that their benefits would be a safety net in retirement.
“Before Medicare, 50 percent of seniors did not have health insurance and 35 percent lived in poverty,” he said. “Today, nearly 50 million Americans, 41 million who are 65 or above, have earned the right to this guaranteed healthcare benefit program, regardless of their medical condition or income.”