Maxwell Frost: “I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Madam Speaker, seniors in America deserve to retire with dignity. They have earned…”

“I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Madam Speaker, seniors in America deserve to retire with dignity. They have earned Social Security and Medicare benefits through a lifetime of work. The seniors of today without pensions or generational wealth depend upon their benefits. Yet, they are living in fear that Republicans in this body will take away their healthcare and their means to pay for housing or food. The bills we are considering this week have nothing to do with combating those fears. What they actually do is harm the health and financial stability of Americans. They dirty our air, they worsen student debt, and they increase the prison population. My Republican colleagues cannot be serious. These priorities and bad policies do nothing to meet the moment. Madam Speaker, I urge my Republican colleagues to come to their senses, and I urge them to stop playing games with our economy. Instead, give the American people some certainty. Give our seniors some certainty. Assure our seniors that you will not cut Social Security and Medicare. It is one thing to say it on the news, and it is another thing to do it in this Chamber. Before Medicare, nearly half of older Americans had no health insurance. Today, Medicare is often the only source of healthcare for nearly all seniors.…”