Max Baucus: “the Book of Proverbs teaches: Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.…”

“the Book of Proverbs teaches: Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. This afternoon, the Senate will begin to address whether we honor our mothers and fathers, our grandmothers and grandfathers. The Senate will begin to address whether we extend needed stimulus checks to 20 million seniors whom the House of Representatives left behind. The author Pearl S. Buck said: Our society must make it . . . possible for old people not to fear the young or be deserted by them, for the test of a civilization is the way that it cares for its helpless members. This afternoon, the Senate will begin to be tested. The Senate will be tested whether it cares for 20 million seniors or deserts them, as did the House of Representatives. America's seniors deserve to get stimulus checks every bit as much as other Americans. They worked hard, very hard all their lives. They paid a lifetime of taxes. They contribute to the economy. And with the economy turning down, seniors can use the stimulus checks every bit as much as other Americans. Everyone knows the Social Security check does not pay the bills. The average retiree's Social Security check is about $1,000 a month, and with the current hard times and gas, food, and health care costs all increasing, it makes it even more difficult for them. Two out of three Social Security beneficiaries get most of their income from Social Security.”