Bernie Sanders

A concern that many people have with regard to the current immigration bill on the floor right now is that the bill proposes to bring in hundreds of thousands of entry-level employees.

If I can, Mr. Chairman, point out that one of the other problems that we have in this country is not only just low wages--and wages, in many cases, going down--but many people with college degrees, picking up on Ms. Smith's point, are…

Real unemployment in America is close to 14 percent. It is even higher for young people, people of color, et cetera.

I worry that if we carry this, 'Well, kids don't do this. Kids don't get their hands dirty.' Nothing wrong with being a plumber or a carpenter. The last I heard, they make good wages. It is a dignified job.

What do you think when we have 14 percent real unemployment in America? That may not be the case in your town.

So I urge and ask all of you and your organizations and people all over this country to stand up for seniors right now, stand up for a cost-effective government.

I have been criticized for actually suggesting that we should see a significant increase in funding.

One of the most effective programs ever designed to address the needs of vulnerable seniors is the Older Americans Act.

Four million seniors live on less than $11,000 a year. Frankly, I don't know how anybody lives on $11,000 a year.

To get to where we were in 1992, we would need an additional $514 million.

Please end it as soon as possible. Exempt those programs which clearly serve the most vulnerable of our society, such as the OAA nutrition programs.

Thank you, Mr. Bedlin.

Wage insurance, not savings, is what's needed to prepare for the loss of wages as a result of old age.

When we invest in these programs, we save money, and sometimes some of my friends don't fully get that.

In my view, if a nation is to be judged by how it cares for the weakest, the most vulnerable people amongst us, the United States would not get particularly high marks.

I happen to believe that if 100 million people are watching this discussion that we're having today with this panel, there would be overwhelming support for this program and significantly increasing funding for this program.

We understand--and this is terribly important as well in this debate--real funding, counting inflation and counting population growth, is significantly less than it was in the 1990s.

What we are in agreement about is in terms of real dollars, the Older Americans Act has been significantly underfunded for many years, and then you have sequestration adding insult to injury.

Seniors remain economically vulnerable as long as they are one serious illness away from bankruptcy.

Half of all seniors are unable to afford even basic living expenses or are living right on the edge.

Let's end government waste by not having our emergency rooms inundated with people who should not be in emergency rooms or hospital care for people who should not have to be in the hospitals.

When we're not adequately funding this program, we're wasting money.

The insanity of wasting huge amounts of money by not providing minimal services to people so they don't end up in the hospital

Thank you sincerely for the opportunity to testify before the subcommittee.

Reauthorizing, improving, and fully funding the Older Americans Act is the least that a grateful nation can do to repay these sacrifices.