Jim Martin, “Seniors need real leadership in the Senate, not political games that have left us with over 1,100 days without a budget and Medicare on the brink of insolvency.”
(Alexandria, Virginia) – With the United States Senate now more than 1,100 days beyond the passage of its last fiscal budget, momentum is now building for House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) budget blueprint, scheduled for a vote this week in the upper chamber. This news was greeted positively by 60 Plus Chairman Jim Martin, leader of the nation’s largest conservative seniors organization with over 7.2 million senior supporters.
“Harry Reid and his Democrat colleagues in the Senate have failed to produce a budget in over 1,100 days, a staggering dereliction of duty and a clear signal to every American that politics comes first in the Democrat-controlled Senate, far ahead of responsible fiscal stewardship of our nation’s finances. The Ryan budget plan is a responsible, workable way to save and preserve Medicare for current retirees and future generations, and restrain the runaway deficit spending that is destroying our nation. It deserves to be supported.
“Democrats continue to justify their policies by claiming they have a monopoly on compassion. But fiscal irresponsibility is not compassion. Leaving our children trillions of dollars in additional debt as the President proposes is not compassion. Letting Medicare go bankrupt and rationing health care to seniors is not compassion, as even the President’s former Chief of Staff admitted that “Medicare will run out of money in five years if we don’t do something.”
“Senate Democrats seem to forget there are real people affected by their policies, the same people struggling to find a job, fill their gas tanks, and pay rapidly increasing cost of insurance premiums and health care for their families. Staying the course of doing nothing is the wrong prescription for seniors and for our nation. The Ryan plan offers hope to every senior and American looking for our nation to return to sound financial footing, so we can meet our obligations and build prosperity well into the future.”
Noting that prominent Democrat Senator, Ron Wyden of Oregon has teamed with Congressman Ryan on a budget measure to preserve Medicare, Martin said, “Senator Wyden should be commended for his courage in putting politics aside to help protect seniors in a bi-partisan manner. His party’s ‘Medi-scare’ tactics, practically part of their DNA, are done for good. If other Democrat Senators truly cared about our nation, they would follow his lead and work to solve the tremendous budget and entitlement problems facing our nation instead of using them as political opportunities to scare seniors to win votes.”
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