Janice Schakowsky: “Thank you so much, Representative Matsui, for being such a strong advocate for older Americans, really for all…”

“Thank you so much, Representative Matsui, for being such a strong advocate for older Americans, really for all Americans, that are going to be helped by this legislation. And we are going to be talking much more about that. I wanted to just let everyone know that for 5 years I had the pleasure of being the executive director of the Illinois State Council of Senior Citizens. It was between 1985 and 1990, and those were among the most fun years and learning years my life. I was a lot younger then, not a senior citizen as I have reached today, and what I learned is that our older Americans, while facing many, many challenges, are the people who really helped build our middle class, who helped build our society, and now in their older years, especially in this time of economic downturn, are facing incredible difficulties in getting their health care. Thank goodness for Medicare. We will talk more about that program that was passed in 1965. There is a reason why every advocacy group for older Americans is supporting this legislation.”