New York US House District 20 How to use the AARP Voters Guide: Here s how this Voters Guide works. AARP asked key questions about issues important to our members and their families of each major candidate for this race. Each candidate was allowed up to 125 words to answer each question. AARP did not edit or modify those answers. The candidates were asked to check the support or oppose circles. The candidates may have chosen not to check a circle. Inside: Domestic Priorities 2 Social Security 3 Enhancing Retirement Security 4 Making Health Care More Affordable 5 Long-Term Care 6 AARP has provided a summary of our position for each of the issues. Pass this guide on to friends and family. Share your views with the candidates. Ask for clarification from any candidate whose answer seems unclear. Be sure to vote on March 31. www.aarp.org/ny Scott Murphy-D-www.scottmurphy09.com Jim Tedisco-R-www.jimtedisco.com
2009 AARP Voters Guide Domestic Priorities NY US House District 20 What will be your top domestic issue priorities if elected? How will you work to break the gridlock to get things done on these issues? Economic Recovery: I don t just talk about jobs, I ve helped create over 1000 jobs and started successful small businesses. To turn our economy around, we need to invest in infrastructure, cut taxes for middle class families, and create jobs in technology and green energy. While not perfect, I would have voted for Obama s economic recovery package. Health Care: Small businesses I work with are finding it harder to provide quality health care and many families are struggling with rising costs. I believe we can reduce costs and expand coverage, while increasing access to preventative care and investing in information technology. Fiscal Discipline: As a fiscal conservative, I will fight to cut waste and debt. Investing in economic recovery should not mean mortgaging our children s future. 1. Bringing real economic recovery to our nation. 2. Creating jobs for a sustainable future. 3. Providing affordable health care for all Americans. I believe that the President and all members of Congress share these three domestic priorities. We may have different views as to how they are best accomplished, but we must be able to put aside partisan politics and act based on a thorough, full, fair and open review of available information and apply the best expert judgment to the known facts and circumstances. On the stimulus package, I believe the President and all members of Congress are committed to an open, transparent process with real accountability and oversight to ensure that no dollar of stimulus money is wasted. Enmt March 31, 2009 NY US House 20
2009 AARP Voters Guide NY US House District 20 Social Security Will you support or oppose a balanced Social Security plan to continue the program s guaranteed benefits for future generations? Will you support or oppose diverting Social Security payroll taxes to fund individual retirement accounts? Protecting the guaranteed benefit of Social Security will be a top priority for me in Congress. I strongly oppose the effort by Congressional Republicans to privatize Social Security, which would eliminate the guaranteed benefit, add trillions to our national debt and risk our retirement security in the stock market. Instead, I will work with President Obama, Senator Gillibrand, and leaders in Congress to find a solution that guarantees Social Security s long term future and protects the guaranteed benefit. For too long, politicians in Washington and Albany have used retirement security as a political issue instead of working across the aisle to find solutions. Generations of Americans have benefited from Social Security s guaranteed benefits; I am committed to ensuring that those benefits are available for future generations. If current fiscal projections are correct, we need to make funding decisions now to ensure the program s future viability. I would consider an approach as suggested by AARP where the income limit for Social Security contributions is raised and modest adjustments are made to how future benefits are calculated if we cannot devise a system to keep contributions and benefits unchanged. I would not support a system that would divert Social Security payroll taxes to individual retirement accounts. However, I do believe that workers should have the ability to voluntarily participate in IRAs through a simple payroll deduction. NY US House 20 March 31, 2009 3
2009 AARP Voters Guide NY US House District 20 Enhancing Retirement Security What options do you support to make saving for retirement easier for American families? Do you support or oppose guaranteeing employees access to automatic payroll deductions in the workplace to fund an IRA? Do you support or oppose creating retirement accounts in addition to Social Security? While our first priority should be protecting Social Security, I will also be a strong advocate for increasing access to additional savings options such as IRAs and 401(k) plans to provide retirement security and increase the savings rate. Additionally, I would encourage a change to make participation the default option for 401(k) plans to encourage longterm savings. In Congress, I will advocate for expanding tax incentives for savings and for legislation that protects the pensions of workers in these tough economic times. For too many years, Americans have not been saving enough for retirement. I believe that we should give Americans as many convenient options as possible to save for retirement. In tough economic times, as those that we are currently experiencing, with low rates of return on most investments, it will take longer to accumulate the retirement savings needed to last for the longer years Americans are living. Therefore, I would support automatic payroll deductions in the workplace to fund IRAs and I would support creating additional retirement accounts in addition to, but not in place of, Social Security. March 31, 2009 NY US House 20
2009 AARP Voters Guide NY US House District 20 Making Health Care More Affordable What policies would you support to make health care and health insurance more affordable and accessible for everyone? What policies would you support to make Medicare more affordable? Reducing the cost of health care requires a comprehensive solution. As part of President Obama s plan, I support allowing individuals the choice to buy into the same health care program Members of Congress have access to as an important step towards reducing the number of uninsured and reducing costs. I also believe it is critical to invest in preventative care and information technology to reduce long-term costs. Veterans health care will also be a priority and I believe that we must provide full funding of health benefits for our returning heroes who have sacrificed for our country. Finally, I support reducing the cost of prescription drugs through the safe importation of medication from Canada and allowing Medicare to negotiate lower prices with pharmaceutical companies. We need to have a multi-pronged approach to making health care and health insurance more affordable. We need to attack the cost-drivers in our health care system. For example, we need to seriously address the near epidemic issue of obesity and the stresses it causes our health care system. I would, therefore, support investment in wellness programs. We need to ensure that every patient is getting appropriate care. Investing in medical records technology will help, as will giving primary care physicians incentives to take the time to listen to their patients. These ideas will also apply to Medicare, but additionally, we need to eliminate waste and corruption in the Medicare system. We also need to reduce prescription drugs costs. NY US House 20 March 31, 2009
2009 AARP Voters Guide Long-Term Care NY US House District 20 How would you shift long-term care services and financing so that people can afford to stay in their homes and communities as long as appropriate? I strongly support ensuring that government programs are more flexible and allow individuals to stay in their homes and near their families as long as possible. I also believe that we must reform regulations that often require individuals to go bankrupt prior to receiving support for long-term care. Finally, we must improve national standards for long-term care as part of an effort to reduce abuse in long-term care facilities. Because of my strong views on this issue and my father s participation as a hospice volunteer, I will be a leader in Congress for long-term care that is flexible and high-quality. We have seen a shift in our attitudes toward aging and the aged. In the past, it was expected that if you lived long enough, you would spend some time in a skilled nursing home facility. We now have senior communities with various levels of care, from unassisted, independent living to assisted living without skilled care, and skilled care for only those truly in need of such services. Many older Americans choose to remain in the family home. It is in our interests to assist them in doing so by shifting resources to home health and home care programs. We also need to give incentives to family members who choose to assist their elderly loved ones by providing additional respite resources and tax incentives. March 31, 2009 NY US House 20
NY US House District 20 About the AARP Election Project: AARP has launched the nonpartisan Election Project, and with your help we can make sure our voices are heard. We don t endorse any specific candidate or party. We just care about issues and with your help we ll make sure candidates take clear stands on the issues so people can make choices that reflect what s important to them. Visit www.aarp.org/ elections.
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