FRANK LAUTENBERG
QUESTION 2 RESPONSE
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Social Security

Millions of Americans rely on monthly Social Security checks to pay bills, buy groceries and enjoy their retirement. While Social Security faces some challenges that must be addressed, I strongly oppose President Bush's attempt to privatize Social Security.

My Republican opponent has consistently sided with Wall Street and other powerful interests to privatize Social Security. Mr. Zimmer went so far as to call Social Security, "an unenforceable promise." I believe his positions and his rhetoric are a serious threat to making sure that Social Security can be counted on today -- and tomorrow.

Privatization, as advocated by Mr. Zimmer and his Washington Republican allies, would greatly reduce benefits for future generations and drains money from the current system to pay today's retirees. Instead of guaranteed benefits based on an individual's work history and, in part, on need, benefits would vary greatly depending on an individual's investment skills and luck. Economic risks would be borne by individuals, rather than shared across society, and benefits could be cut by 30 percent or more because of the costs involved in setting up private accounts. We should not destroy Social Security under the guise of "saving" it.

I also support making the Social Security system fairer for our teachers, police officers, firefighters and other public employees. Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination provisions were introduced in the early 1980's to align public service pensions more closely with Social Security. However, these provisions have unintentionally reduced earned Social Security benefits for many public employee retirees and their families. These provisions act as a deterrent to individuals entering public service, including teachers, police officers, and firefighters, and serve as a disincentive for talented individuals to remain in these professions.

Medicaid

Thousands of New Jersey residents depend on the Medicaid program to help them see a doctor or get the medicine they need to stay healthy. Unfortunately, the Bush Administration continues to support policies that shift more of Medicaid costs to state governments, many of which are already struggling to provide proper medical care for low-income residents.

I support efforts to strengthen the Medicaid program and help states address the rising costs of health care during these touch economic times. Many states are being forced to cut essential programs like Medicaid in order to balance their budgets. I co-authored a bill that would increase Medicaid funding for states and provide additional funding to serve new patients who may have recently lost their health care coverage due to job loss.

We must also work to expand the Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to more uninsured working families. Many of these families currently make too much money to qualify for Medicaid but do not earn enough to afford private insurance. I support increasing Medicaid eligibility limits so more working families can get quality, affordable health care. Last year, I supported an expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program that would have provided health insurance to an additional 100,000 New Jersey children and voted twice to override the President's veto of this successful program. In fact, I successfully fought off multiple efforts to remove the health care coverage of thousands of New Jersey children. With more than 47 million Americans uninsured, we should be doing all we can to help states provide health care to more people.

I also support increasing payments to doctors and hospitals that treat Medicaid patients. Many health care providers are already turning these patients away because of low reimbursement and many times these patients do not have anywhere else to turn. In the last two years, the Bush Administration has supported several policies that have limited Medicaid funding to doctors and hospitals. I supported a bill that passed Congress in May that delayed these harmful policies until next year.

Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit

Despite the passage of the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit, seniors continue to struggle with rising prescription drug costs. I support eliminating what has become known as the Medicare "doughnut hole." Medicare patients receive help with paying for their prescription drugs up to $2,250. However, between $2,250 and $5,100, these patients fall into the "doughnut hole" and must pay the full costs of their drugs before they can again receive help paying for their drugs.

For many seniors on a fixed income, this might mean the difference between paying their mortgage and paying for their medication. I authored a bill that would eliminate this "doughnut hole" and make sure that the government lives up to its commitment to helping seniors afford their medication.

Every single year that Dick Zimmer was in Congress he voted to take money away from Medicare -- a total of almost $770 billion. And in this year's campaign Mr. Zimmer said he would look to take money away from programs like Medicare yet again as a way to pay for tax breaks for the wealthiest. My opponent and I have very different priorities when it comes to making sure that hard working New Jersey families have access to affordable health care.