Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid: Protecting Our Promise 

Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are not “entitlements”. Period. They are earned benefits, a sacred promise we’ve made to our people. Over two million Illinoisans rely on Social Security, including tens of thousands right here in our district who count on it for every trip to the grocery store. Thousands more depend on Medicare and Medicaid to stay healthy. These are not handouts; they are promises made after decades of hard work. Any attempt to cut or weaken these lifelines is a betrayal of the trust between our country and its people. Yet too many politicians in Washington talk about Social Security and Medicare as if they’re just line items to trim or privatize. Let me be clear: we will not balance the budget on the backs of our seniors and our most vulnerable. We must strengthen these programs, not cut them. This ensures they’re solvent, expanded, and there for everyone who needs them, now and for generations to come.

As your representative, I will support:

• Absolutely no cuts or higher retirement ages for Social Security and Medicare. We will not stand for backdoor cuts or sneaky “reforms” that force people to work into their 70s or quietly reduce benefits. Our parents and grandparents earned their Social Security through a lifetime of hard work. I’ll vote against any scheme whether it’s raising the retirement age or any underhanded budget trick that breaks the promise made to our seniors. 

• Make the wealthy pay their fair share into Social Security. Right now, millionaires and billionaires stop paying Social Security taxes on any income above roughly $160,000 – meaning a billionaire pays not a dime more while working people pay on all of their wages. That’s absurd. I will fight to scrap the payroll tax cap so the rich contribute their fair share. This single move can secure Social Security’s solvency indefinitely and even allow us to increase benefits. A teacher or truck driver shouldn’t pay a higher percentage of their income than a hedge fund CEO. 

• Expand Medicare to cover dental, vision, and hearing. Basic health needs don’t stop at age 65. It’s time Medicare fully covered routine dental checkups, eyeglasses and vision care, and hearing aids. No senior in IL-17 or anywhere should go without care for their teeth, eyes, or ears due to cost. These are healthcare necessities, and adding them to Medicare will dramatically improve quality of life for millions. 

• Fully fund Medicaid and reject cruel restrictions. I will fight any attempt to slash Medicaid or impose punitive work requirements that would kick vulnerable people off healthcare. Medicaid provides essential care for low-income families, children, pregnant women, and people with disabilities. In Congress, I’ll push to increase federal Medicaid funding to states and close coverage gaps, not shrink this lifeline. Health care is a human right, and it shouldn’t depend on your income or your ability to work. 

• Make benefits easy to access and navigate. It’s not enough to have these programs on paper. People need to be able to use them without jumping through hoops. I’ll work to simplify enrollment for Social Security and Medicare and improve outreach so every eligible person in IL-17 (especially in rural and underserved areas) knows how to get the benefits they’ve earned. That means investing in Social Security Administration field offices (not closing them) and better customer service, including assistance in multiple languages. 

We honor our parents, grandparents, and veterans by keeping our promises to them. I’ll stand guard against any attempt to undermine Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid and I’ll work to expand these programs so that every American can retire and live with security and dignity.