Kerry speaks on Senior Issues

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I especially like the last line! It wasn't a problem I've noticed either.

 

 

Candidates Speak Out On Senior Issues

 

Bio | Kerry Responses | Main Candidate Page

 

John Kerry was born on December 11, 1943 at Fitzsimmons Military Hospital in

Denver, Colorado, where his father, Richard, who had volunteered to fly DC-3's

in the Army Air Corps in World War II, was recovering from a bout with

tuberculosis. Not long after Sen. Kerry's birth, his family returned home to

Massachusetts.

 

A graduate of Yale University, John Kerry entered the Navy after graduation,

becoming a Swift Boat officer, serving on a gunboat in the Mekong Delta in

Vietnam. He received a Silver Star, Bronze Star with Combat V, and three awards

of the Purple Heart for his service in combat.

 

By the time Senator Kerry returned home from Vietnam, he felt compelled to

question decisions he believed were being made to protect those in positions of

authority in Washington at the expense of the soldiers carrying on the fighting

in Vietnam. Kerry was a co-founder of the Vietnam Veterans of America and became

a spokesperson for the Vietnam Veterans Against the War -- Morley Safer would

describe him as " a veteran whose articulate call to reason rather than anarchy

seemed to bridge the gap between the Abbie Hoffman's of the world and Mr.

Agnew's so-called 'Silent Majority.' " In April 1971, testifying before the

Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he asked the question of his fellow

citizens, " How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake? " Sen.

Claiborne Pell, (D-R.I.) thanked Kerry, then 27, for testifying before the

committee, expressing his hope that Kerry " might one day be a colleague of ours

in this body. "

 

Fourteen years later, John Kerry would have the opportunity to fulfill those

hopes - serving side by side with Sen. Pell as a Member of the Senate Foreign

Relations Committee. But in the intervening years, he found different ways to

fight for those things in which he believed. Time and again, Kerry fought to

hold the political system accountable and to do what he believed was right. As a

top prosecutor in Middlesex County, Kerry took on organized crime and put the

Number Two mob boss in New England behind bars. He modernized the District

Attorney's office, creating an innovative rape crisis crime unit, and as a

lawyer in private practice he worked long and hard to prove the innocence of a

man wrongly given a life sentence for a murder he did not commit.

 

In 1984, after winning election as Lieutenant Governor in 1982, Kerry ran and

was elected to serve in the United States Senate, running and winning a

successful PAC-free Senate race and defeating a Republican opponent buoyed by

Ronald Reagan's reelection coattails. Like his predecessor, the irreplaceable

Paul Tsongas, Kerry came to the Senate with a reputation for independence -- and

reinforced it by making tough choices on difficult issues: breaking with many in

his own Party to support Gramm-Rudman Deficit Reduction; taking on corporate

welfare and government waste; pushing for campaign finance reform; holding

Oliver North accountable and exposing the fraud and abuse at the heart of the

BCCI scandal; working with John McCain in the search for the truth about Vietnam

veterans declared POW/MIA; and insisting on accountability, investment, and

excellence in public education.

 

Sen. Kerry was re-elected in 1990, again in 1996, defeating the popular

Republican Governor William Weld in the most closely watched Senate race in the

country, and in 2002. Now serving his fourth term, Kerry has worked to reform

public education, address children's issues, strengthen the economy and

encourage the growth of the high tech New Economy, protect the environment, and

advance America's foreign policy interests around the globe.

 

John Kerry is married to Teresa Heinz Kerry. He has two daughters, Alexandra and

Vanessa. Teresa has three sons, John, Andre, and Christopher. Senator Kerry

lives in Boston.

 

 

 

 

Kerry Responses to Survey

HEALTH / Medicaid

 

What do you think should be done to ensure the sustainability of the Medicaid

program and to improve it? Prior to full meaningful reform, would you support

the continuation of a temporary increase in the Federal Medical Assistance

Percentage (FMAP)?

 

We have to shore up Medicaid. States are facing large deficits and many have

been forced to slash funding for Medicaid. The Bush Administration has done

little to prevent this from happening. In fact, they have proposed turning

Medicaid into block grant, which would harm the program and the millions of

people it serves. I believe that we need to relieve pressures on state budgets

to ensure the sustainability of the Medicaid program. That's why I supported

increased resources for Medicaid earlier this year. I have proposed spending $50

billion over the next two years to help states struggling to bridge deficits.

This proposal includes $15 billion explicitly targeted to increase FMAP.

 

HEALTH / Medicare Prescription Drugs

 

Do you support a prescription drug benefit, and if so, will you commit financial

resources in your fiscal year 2006 budget submission to address the serious

deficiencies in the reported conference agreement and work to fix serious

structural deficiencies?

 

Will you commit resources to eliminate each of those problems?

 

I support a real prescription drug benefit. However, the Medicare bill that just

passed is designed by and for big HMOs and drug companies. It forces seniors

into HMOs, includes no real cost containment, contains artificial budget caps,

contains no real fall back plan to ensure that seniors have an affordable option

and threatens retiree health coverage for millions of seniors.

 

I will work to fix the coverage gaps in the plan and improve protections for

low-income seniors and those with retiree coverage. We need a prescription drug

benefit that: rewards employers who are offering retiree health benefits rather

than undermining them; that assures every senior has a real affordable fall back

plan; does not push seniors into HMOs with a controversial premium support

proposal and includes real cost containment.

 

I have a comprehensive plan to hold down prescription drug cost increases by

exposing drug company kickbacks, cutting down on medical mistakes, ending

artificial barriers to generic drugs, and allowing states to follow the Maine

example of using their bargaining power to negotiate better drug prices.

 

What are your positions on these five issues? (pertaining to the prescription

drug legislation)

 

Artificial budget caps

The lack of a dependable fallback delivery system

An administratively complex means testing of the benefit?

Failure to obtain more cost savings in prescription drug prices?

Competition between traditional fee-for-service Medicare and various types of

managed care plans?

 

A) I absolutely oppose artificial budget caps on Medicare spending.

B) The lack of a dependable fallback delivery system is a major problem with the

current bill and could cause seniors to pay excessive premiums. Every senior

must have access to a reliable Medicare-run plan.

C) I don't support means-testing the program. The legacy of Medicare is that

everyone pays in and everyone gets something out. We have to keep that solemn

agreement.

D) The bill that passed actually keeps drug prices high - because it prevents

Medicare from negotiating better drug prices and prevents access to lower-cost

drugs available in other countries - allowing drug company profits to skyrocket

at the expense of seniors. We need a benefit with real cost containment

provisions.

E) I oppose the Bush Administration's scheme to privatize Medicare. Seniors

should never be forced into HMO's. The problem with the competition provisions

in the current bill is that many seniors will be forced into HMOs or they will

have to pay significantly higher premiums to stay in traditional Medicare.

 

HEALTH / Medicare

 

What are your specific plans to help ensure the financial future of the Medicare

program?

 

I believe that Medicare is more than just a program - it is a commitment between

generations that has helped tens of millions of seniors and people with

disabilities live better and healthier lives. Before Medicare, fully half of

seniors were uninsured.

 

In 1993, Medicare was scheduled to go broke by 1999. We knew we had to act and

we did. Democrats came up with a reasonable plan to improve the economy and

strengthen Medicare. We did it again in 1997 and now the program is strong until

at least 2026.

 

We need this same approach again: 1) Improve the economy; 2) Cut fraud and abuse

out of the program 3) Improve our health care - I gave a speech at Dartmouth

recently about how much we can improve health care. Only 55% of people get the

most up-to-date care. And one in four hospitalizations among older Americans are

due to prescription drug errors. We can do a lot to improve quality and save

money.

 

What I won't do is force seniors into HMOs and I wouldn't support a drug plan

that helps pharmaceutical companies and HMOs above seniors.

 

And I won't balance the budget on the backs of the middle class. I believe that

we need to strengthen Medicare, not slash its funding. I stood shoulder to

shoulder with President Clinton during that watershed moment for the Democratic

Party when the federal government was shutdown in order to protect Medicare.

 

INCOME SECURITY / Social Security

 

We would appreciate your views on Social Security’s future. Do you favor or

oppose the following changes to Social Security?

 

Diverting payroll tax dollars into individual accounts

 

Bush and his advisors have signaled that privatizing Social Security is

something they are committed to doing in the second term. That takes a trillion

dollars out of the system. That doesn’t make any sense. I am opposed to

privatizing or partially privatizing Social Security because it would leave

beneficiaries unacceptably vulnerable to volatility in the financial markets and

would cost $1 trillion to pay promised benefits – an impossibility given our

skyrocketing deficits.

 

 

Raising the retirement age

 

I am opposed to raising the retirement age. We shouldn't ask people to

contribute to Social Security throughout their entire working lives, and then

change the benefit rules as they near retirement. Moreover, even though life

expectancy has increased it does not mean that all workers - particularly those

who work on their feet or in labor intensive jobs - can work until 70 or beyond.

 

 

Raising the cap on taxable wages

 

I think we may have to look at ways to make the Social Security benefit more

progressive. The cutoff today is $86,000. I absolutely wouldn't start with

people making $86,000. If we needed to raise the cap, I'd start with the

wealthiest people in the country.

 

 

Means-testing benefits

 

I oppose means-testing. I oppose anything that breaks the Social Security

compact with seniors.

 

 

Efforts to modernize the SSI program

 

I support reasonable modernization efforts to address the challenges facing the

Supplemental Security Income program including issues surrounding eligibility

and benefits.

 

 

INCOME SECURITY / Pensions

 

Do you favor establishing a system of federally-sponsored universal retirement

savings accounts in addition to Social Security, financed with new dollars,

rather than with funds diverted from Social Security?

 

I am in favor of federally sponsored universal retirement savings accounts. We

must keep the Social Security Compact but it is also essential that, in

addition, we help provide Americans with other ways to save for a secure

retirement.

 

What are some of your recommendations for helping to protect workers currently

covered by defined benefit pensions and workplace savings plans?

 

When Enron collapsed and when WorldCom and Global Crossing went bankrupt,

thousands of workers lost their pensions, their jobs and their dreams for the

future. California's pension plan lost $1 billion because of WorldCom. Why

haven't we changed the laws that allowed this to happen? Because George W. Bush

is more worried about his corporate friends than America's workers.

 

Steps must be taken to ensure that workers' retirement savings are protected. I

would ensure that older workers' benefits are not jeopardized when companies

shift to cash-balance pension plans; and take other steps to ensure that older

workers are not discriminated against. We need to provide better investment

information and advice to workers. And as a lesson learned from the Enron

scandal, we need to ensure that companies cannot force employees to hold

employer stock for longer than the time it takes the stock to vest.

 

 

LONG-TERM CARE

 

Do you agree that federal and state policies should allow people who need

long-term care to receive the services and supports in the least restrictive

setting possible, including the home and community?

 

Yes, we need to develop a comprehensive long-term care system that gives seniors

and people with disabilities the choices they need to get the care they need.

Some people need a home health aide to help with basic needs, others have a

child or spouse who are caregivers but those caregivers need help and support.

We need to make Medicaid more flexible so that it can cover home and

community-based services in addition to institutional care.

 

Too often Medicaid pays thousands of dollars for nursing home care when many

people could live at home with a home health aide or caregiver. We need to

change this and make sure that people with long-term care needs get the services

that make sense. I support a tax credit for caregiving - that can be used for

whatever long-term care services are needed.

 

How would your administration support and enhance current state efforts to move

people from institutions to the community and to prevent premature or

inappropriate nursing home placement? What, if anything, will you do to

streamline or eliminate the home and community-based waiver process for states

under Medicaid? In addition, how would your administration support unpaid or

family caregivers who provide the majority of long-term care to older people

with disabilities?

 

I will support state efforts by strengthening and protecting Medicaid, not

tearing it apart. I am firmly opposed to the Bush Administration's proposals to

turn Medicaid into a block grant to the states. By investing in Medicaid, we can

improve the health and independence of the millions of Americans with

disabilities throughout our country. No one should be forced into a nursing home

or have their most basic needs go unmet just because they live in a state that

chooses not to offer needed community living services.

 

It is essential that we put an end to the institutional bias in Medicaid and

make sure those with disabilities get a wide range of choices. Today, Medicaid

sometimes pays tens of thousands for nursing home care when the person could

live at home with just a home health aide. I will change the Medicaid law so

that states can implement home- and community-based services without a federal

waiver.

 

Family caregivers are the backbone of the long-term care system, providing about

80% of the care for people who need assistance with daily activities, such as

bathing, dressing, preparing meals, and taking medications. My administration

will support these caregivers and make sure they receive appropriate

recognition. I will expand the Family and Medical Leave Act. And I will provide

family caregivers with access to information, training and counseling services.

Caring for a loved one with long term care needs is some of the most important

work- but it is difficult. We need to provide support to Americans with long

term care needs and their caregivers.

 

Would your administration support, enhance or replace the current

federal/state/local infrastructure to provide home and community-based services

for older people (i.e. Older Americans Act program and the aging network, SSBG,

senior transportation programs, elderly housing programs, etc.) and how would

your administration do this?

 

I will support and enhance the current infrastructure for providing home and

community based services. Home- and community-based services that assist seniors

with activities of daily living, such as personal care, meal preparation, and

taking medicine, are currently provided through a number of federal government

programs. The problem is these programs are fragmented and reach only a portion

of the population in need due to different eligibility requirements, conflicting

administrative requirements, and limited funding. Creating a coherent system of

easily accessible community services is essential to support the goal of

independent living and to providing all seniors with flexibility.

 

The federal and state governments, together with individuals and families, all

bear some financial responsibility for long-term care. How should these

responsibilities ideally be distributed? Do you support the federal government

bearing an increased burden? If so, how?

 

Families, state and local governments all have a role to play in paying for long

term care. The federal government must bear a substantial burden by providing

adequate support to the Medicaid program. The Bush Administration wants to

deliver Medicaid funding in " block-grants " to states, making it likely the

program will be underfunded and cutbacks will be necessary. I believe we need to

put more of the burden for long term care and Medicaid on the federal

government- not less. And I believe that we need to relieve pressures on state

budgets to ensure the sustainability of the Medicaid program. I have proposed

spending $50 billion over the next two years to help states struggling to bridge

deficits, including $15 billion specifically targeted to help states with health

care costs.

 

COMMUNITY SERVICES / Older Americans Act

 

What initiatives would you advance to support and augment the Older Americans

Act and the vital services it provides to millions of older adults?

 

The Older Americans Act has been an indispensable source of support for millions

of older Americans who wish to maintain their independence. I will provide

strong support to the OAA by ensuring adequate federal funding so that all of

OAA's critical programs are strong from Meals on Wheels to Family Caregivers.

 

I will also augment the services provided by the OAA with a new initiative. The

potential of seniors as a resource to help each other is enormous. I will expand

the Senior Corps program and call on seniors to use their experiences and

energies for the good of the nation in a new Retired Not Tired program. In

exchange for 10 hours of service a week, members will earn up to $2,000 a year

tax free that they can apply to an education grant for a family member or to

defray their own health care costs.

 

As the baby boomers retire, more Americans have long term care needs. Seniors

have the credibility and compassion to help fellow seniors who are infirm in a

way no one else can. Participants in my senior service program will be able to

offer seniors support to live independently in a number of ways- including pick

up their prescriptions and checking in on them regularly to make sure they are

doing well.

 

COMMUNITY SERVICES / Social Services Block Grants

 

Would you support the restoration of the Social Services Block Grant

authorization level to at least its pre-welfare reform level of $2.8 billion and

restore the ability of states to transfer 10% of TANF (Temporary Assistance to

Needy Families) funds to SSBG?

 

The Social Services Block Grant provides essential services to the most

vulnerable Americans. The federal government must live up to its commitment. I

will restore the SSBG authorization to its pre welfare reform level and restore

the ability of states to transfer 10% of TANF funds to the Social Services Block

Grant.

 

COMMUNITY SERVICES / Senior Employment Program

 

Would you support a ten percent increase in SCSEP, which would provide over

6,000 additional jobs for low-income Americans age 55 and older?

 

I believe it is critical to provide to low income Americans over the age of 55

with the resources they need to enhance their economic security. To that end, I

will support an increase in SCSEP funding.

 

COMMUNITY SERVICES / Senior Volunteer Programs

 

What plans do you have to support and, further, what other plans would you

implement to make the best use of seniors as a resource in service to their

communities and, specifically, would you support a goal of doubling the number

of senior volunteers sponsored through the National Senior Service Corps over

the next five years?

 

As President, I will defend and strengthen vital programs such as Medicare and

Social Security, but I also believe in calling on America's seniors to give

their time, experience, and expertise to an America that needs their help. I

have a plan to engage 100,000 seniors a year in service in the next decade.

 

Luckily, today's Americans are living longer and staying healthy into their

retirement. I will call on these seniors to use their experiences and energies

for the good of the nation by expanding and strengthening current senior service

programs and with a new Retired Not Tired program. In exchange for 10 hours of

service a week, members will earn up to $2,000 a year tax free that they can

apply to an education grant for a grandchild or other family member, a child in

their neighborhood, or one of the young people they mentor. Alternatively,

Seniors will be able to use these funds to defray their own health care costs.

 

Seniors can serve as role models for our children, signposts of stability in our

schools, and as the world's most patient tutors. When seniors are part of

schools, students behave better. When seniors spend time tutoring they provide

needed respite for over-strained teachers who must be freed up to teach, and

children get help learning what they need to know.

 

Seniors can also help each other. Seniors have the credibility and compassion to

help fellow seniors who are infirm in a way no one else can. Participants in my

senior service program will be able to offer seniors support to live

independently.

 

COMMUNITY SERVICES / Housing

 

How important will it be to your administration to maintain and increase the

supply of low-income senior housing we have in this country and what would you

do to make sure health and housing services fit together for these people?

 

Our nation is facing an affordable housing crisis. Today, many elderly people in

this country increasingly find themselves unable to afford housing. That is why

I have introduced the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund to begin a rental

housing production program that will ensure 1.5 million new rental units are

built over the next 10 years.

 

Less than three decades from now, the elderly population in the United States is

expected to double. Our seniors should have the right to age as they choose in

either a private home or a supportive community environment. Too many seniors

are forced to move from their private homes due to a lack of supportive services

in their community. And there are too few options available like assisted

living. I strongly support expanding home-based health assistance programs which

help seniors maintain their independence and dignity. These programs actually

reduce the cost to the taxpayer by lowering the number of seniors moving into a

supportive community environment that is paid for by Medicaid. As President, I

will work with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department

of Health and Human Services and state authorities to coordinate the housing,

health care and other supportive services they provide. These changes will help

our seniors can make their own housing choices and

will help them maintain both their independence and their dignity.

 

COMMUNITY SERVICES / Transportation

 

Please describe your plan to promote senior transportation as a priority within

your Administration, and specifically do you support substantial increases in

funding for the Federal Transportation Administration’s Section 5310 Program,

the major transportation program for the elderly which is currently funded at

$90 million?

 

In the Senate, I have strongly supported federal initiatives to improve senior

transportation options. I support several steps to improve the quality of public

transportation for seniors. I support a tripling of funding for the Federal

Transit Administration's Elderly and Persons with Disabilities Program and

modifying it to help services pay for operating expenses. I will also ensure

that state and local planning boards adequately consider the needs of seniors

and the disabled before federal dollars can be used on a transportation project.

Further, with the projected growth in elderly population, I will make the needs

of seniors a top priority in my administration's transportation policies.

 

FEDERAL RIGHTS

 

What will your administration do to ensure full protection for the rights and

welfare of our nation’s seniors?

 

As President, I will nominate judges who respect the safety net protections that

seniors rely on. I will nominate judges who respect and understand that Medicaid

is an entitlement. And my appointees will enforce and uphold our civil rights

laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Age Discrimination

in Employment Act, to ensure the protections promised under their enactment.

 

This election is so important because the Supreme Court hangs in the balance.

Since he has taken office, President Bush has pursued a strategy of quietly but

steadily packing the courts with judges whose thinking is shared by the tiniest

sliver of the far right - judges who have shown their commitment to rolling back

critical protections. He's made judicial nominations red meat for the right

wing, hoping the rest of us aren't paying attention. If I am elected President,

I will appoint Justices with a broad understanding of American life today and

with a commitment to fairness and equality.

 

I will also support legislation to restore civil rights protections to

individuals with disabilities who have been harmed by Court decisions that

restrict the scope of the protected class and the scope of rights under ADA. And

I will end the era of John Ashcroft and nominate an Attorney General and a Chair

to the EEOC who will make enforcement of the ADA a top priority and use their

respective offices as bully pulpits for tougher enforcement.

 

What steps will your administration take to address staffing problems in nursing

homes and other long-term care facilities?

 

First, we need to recruit and train more people to become caregivers, including

home health aides, nurses, paraprofessionals and others. These caregivers work

around the clock to take care of our most vulnerable Americans and they need to

receive adequate training.

 

To recruit and keep quality caregivers, we must make sure that receive better

training, better working conditions and better pay. I have long stood with

health care workers for better working conditions such as whistleblower

protections so that health care workers can report errors and problems without

fear of retaliation. I have fought to strengthen Medicare and Medicaid which are

frequent payors for home health

 

We should also make sure that direct care workers provide quality care. I

support providing consumers information about the quality of care and give more

choices. People with long term care needs and their families should be able to

access information about the quality of a nursing home or a home care service. I

also support criminal background checks for home care workers. And I support

better enforcement. Harming or neglecting residents is unacceptable and in a

Kerry Administration it will not be tolerated.

 

TAXES

 

A series of tax cuts have been passed over the past three years, which have been

criticized as contributing to these large deficit projections. Would you support

modifications of any of these tax cuts, and if so, which ones in particular?

 

I will roll back the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans- those making

more than $200,000 a year. However, I believe that we should keep the middle

class tax cuts that Democrats fought for in 2001 and 2003. I will not raise

taxes on middle class families.

 

Specifically, I want to protect the increases in the child tax credit, the

reduced marriage penalty and the new 10 percent tax bracket that helps people

save $350 on their first level of income. The last time I checked, the problem

in America wasn't that the middle class had too much money.

 

 

 

 

 

 

2004 Leadership Council of Aging Organizations. .

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