Herb Kohl: “generation by generation, the face of America is always changing. In the next quarter of a century, the laugh lines of…”

“generation by generation, the face of America is always changing. In the next quarter of a century, the laugh lines of that face will deepen as the number of older Americans explodes. Today, those over 65 account for 12 percent of our population; in 2030, they will account for 20 percent. Academic experts, policy wonks, economists, and health care providers are conjecturing broadly about how this demographic wave will affect our society. As chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, I am listening carefully. It is the charge of the Aging Committee to plan accordingly for the challenges facing our seniors tomorrow and to tackle the problems confronting them today. Older American Month, which occurs each May, gives us an opportunity to highlight these issues but let me assure you that it is impossible to relegate senior issues into one neat category, and soon it will be impossible to confine our attention to them to just 1 month. Nearly every issue dealt with by Congress affects older Americans, or is affected by them, in a unique way. From emergency preparedness to broadcast technology, from the size of the labor force to regulation of corporate marketing practices, these issues are worthy of our attention from the older person's perspective. Then there are, of course, the more obvious challenges ahead of us, such as preserving Social Security, strengthening Medicare, and improving long-term care.”