Illinois United States House of Representatives, District 6

Candidates:

L. Tammy Duckworth, Democrat - http://www.duckworthforcongress.com
Peter J. Roskam, Republican - www.roskamforcongress.com

Questions - SOCIAL SECURITY HEALTH CARE REFORM MEDICARE LONG-TERM CARE RETIREMENT SECURITY

Social Security

A balanced Social Security plan for guaranteed benefits
	Supports	Opposes
AARP
L. Tammy Duckworth, Democrat
Peter J. Roskam, Republican
Using Social Security taxes for private accounts
	Supports	Opposes
AARP
L. Tammy Duckworth, Democrat
Peter J. Roskam, Republican

* If there is no check mark, the candidate was either undecided or chose not to check a box.

Question
Will you support or oppose a balanced Social Security plan to continue the program's guaranteed benefits for future generations? Will you support or oppose using Social Security taxes to fund private accounts?

AARP Response
For 70 years, America's families have relied on the values embodied in Social Security. The program's guaranteed, risk-free benefit protects people from outliving their savings or the loss of a spouse or parent. We all benefit from the shared responsibility of providing for today's beneficiaries, with the knowledge that that same responsibility will be met by future generations for us.

AARP believes that a bipartisan plan that balances additional contributions from higher income workers with modest adjustments in future benefits can maintain guaranteed Social Security benefits for future generations. Private accounts that drain money out of the Social Security Trust Fund would make it harder to strengthen the program and create a mountain of new federal debt for our children and grandchildren.

Candidate Response: L. Tammy Duckworth, Democrat

Social Security’s solvency is threatened—above all—by out-of-control government spending. The federal government is borrowing billions of dollars from the Social Security Trust Fund to finance the nation’s current $9 trillion debt.

That is why I have taken a tough stand on wasteful government spending, and have called for a return to “pay as you go” budgeting. This is an area in which the current Congress has failed to impose any discipline.

I oppose risky privatization schemes. Payroll taxes should not be diverted from the Trust Fund to finance private accounts that would result in diminished benefits for retirees.

I was proud that my stand on these issues led the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare to endorse my campaign.

Candidate Response: Peter J. Roskam, Republican

Without a doubt, Social Security must be protected. At the same time, I believe Social Security must be strengthened so that it can pay retirement benefits for years and years to come. Although no current or near retiree is facing benefit cuts, the benefits for future generations are at risk simply because the number of retirees continues to grow relative to the number of available workers who pay into the system. Therefore, I believe we should look at ways to improve the overall retirement security for all of us. If I am fortunate to serve you in Washington, I will examine all the proposals that are on the table. My position is that we must find a way to strengthen and protect Social Security without raising payroll taxes, without reducing benefits, without raising the retirement age and without privatizing the system.

Health Care Reform

A shared approach to providing health care coverage
	Supports	Opposes
AARP
L. Tammy Duckworth, Democrat
Peter J. Roskam, Republican

* If there is no check mark, the candidate was either undecided or chose not to check a box.

Question
Will you support or oppose a shared approach involving government, employers and individuals, to providing health care coverage for everyone?

AARP Response
In the absence of universal coverage, AARP supports specific reforms that increase the number of people with health care coverage, either through public or private insurance.

More and more Americans, including a growing number of workers, find themselves without health insurance. Increasing health care costs strain businesses large and small, leading them to either stop offering health care coverage all together or raise employee premiums and co-pays. Shifting an ever-larger share of health care costs to individuals does not address the problem of the high cost of health care and threatens the health and financial security of American families.

AARP believes that government, employers and individuals should share the responsibility for paying for health care coverage.

Candidate Response: L. Tammy Duckworth, Democrat

More than 45 million Americans lack health care coverage— and many other households make difficult choices when paying their health care expenses, a crisis which hits our nation’s seniors hardest.

Covering all Americans through one comprehensive program may be unfeasible. However, there are many steps Congress could consider to address this issue.

For example, depending on its fiscal impact, I would explore policies allowing those Americans between the ages of 54-65 who do not yet qualify for Medicare to buy into health care plans currently available to federal employees.

Congress must address the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs. For instance, I would work to make lower-cost, generic drugs more widely available, and fight efforts by the pharmaceutical companies to prevent generics from coming to market.

Candidate Response: Peter J. Roskam, Republican

I have five family members who are physicians so I am keenly aware of the challenges we are facing in the healthcare system. The surest way to keep the cost of healthcare down is to simplify the way health care is delivered. A federal bureaucratic-controlled healthcare system puts the government in charge of personal health decisions. Medical decisions should be made by physicians and patients, not faceless bureaucrats who are out of touch with the kind of health care that is needed. I believe the federal government should expand the availability of health care tax credits, which allow eligible individuals and families to receive tax credits to cover the cost of health insurance. However, individuals should not be required to purchase health insurance.

Medicare

Medicare negotiating to lower drug prices
	Supports	Opposes
AARP
L. Tammy Duckworth, Democrat
Peter J. Roskam, Republican
An annual limit on federal Medicare spending
	Supports	Opposes
AARP
L. Tammy Duckworth, Democrat
Peter J. Roskam, Republican

* If there is no check mark, the candidate was either undecided or chose not to check a box.

Question
Will you support or oppose allowing Medicare to use its bargaining power to negotiate lower prices for needed prescription drugs? Will you support or oppose imposing an annual limit on federal Medicare spending?

AARP Response
Medicare Part D is now helping millions of people in Medicare save money on their prescription drugs. But while those with Part D coverage are saving, the actual cost of prescription drugs continues to increase at a rate greater than general inflation. AARP believes that more must be done to bring down soaring drug costs and supports allowing Medicare to use its bargaining power to negotiate lower prescription drugs.

Proposals have been made in Congress to put an annual limit on how much money the federal government spends on the Medicare program. AARP opposes arbitrary limits on Medicare funding.

Candidate Response: L. Tammy Duckworth, Democrat

While I supported the goal of providing prescription drug coverage under Medicare, the new Part D program has many serious flaws. Chief among them is the prohibition barring Medicare from negotiating for lower drug prices, which-- I know firsthand-- the VA has been able to do with great success.

This prohibition drives up seniors’ costs and increases the deficit. It also demonstrates the enormous influence of pharmaceutical lobbyists who pushed lawmakers to insert this provision into the Medicare bill.

If elected to Congress, I would work to fix this and other flaws in Part D, including the “doughnut hole” that leaves many seniors with gaps in coverage, and the lifetime penalty imposed on seniors who needed more time to sign up for this complex program.

Candidate Response: Peter J. Roskam, Republican

I believe that Congress should explore ways to reduce costs for Medicare beneficiaries including discounts from pharmaceutical manufacturers. We must fully fund Medicare to ensure services for every beneficiary. However, we must be aggressive in rooting out waste, fraud and abuse. I am also committed to reducing the cost of prescription drugs for seniors and all the working families in this district.

Long-Term Care

A combined approach to covering long-term care
	Supports	Opposes
AARP
L. Tammy Duckworth, Democrat
Peter J. Roskam, Republican
Requiring individuals to purchase private long-term care insurance
	Supports	Opposes
AARP
L. Tammy Duckworth, Democrat
Peter J. Roskam, Republican

* If there is no check mark, the candidate was either undecided or chose not to check a box.

Question
Will you support or oppose a combined approach that involves government and individuals covering long-term care? Will you support or oppose requiring individuals to buy private long-term care insurance?

AARP Response
Long-term care can be costly for people who do not have family caregivers or need more care than family and friends can provide. Qualifying for Medicaid-the primary public funding source for long-term care-requires either very low assets and income, or depleting almost all assets and income to pay for care. Currently private insurance is either too expensive or unavailable for many people. Approaches that give people cash payments to choose, buy and manage their care, along with counseling to help them make and manage care choices, help maintain dignity and maximize independence.

AARP supports a publicly funded, long-term care cash benefit program-paid for through a combination of government and individual contributions-to give people more control over their own care. AARP opposes requiring individuals to buy private long-term care insurance.

Candidate Response: L. Tammy Duckworth, Democrat

Creating long-term care options to preserve seniors’ health and autonomy is a major challenge. It becomes more complex as many seniors’ caregivers are adult children who themselves may face medical challenges associated with aging.

Congress should ensure that individuals have maximum flexibility to determine the most appropriate setting, recognizing that home-based care may provide the greatest cost-savings.

I oppose mandates requiring individuals to purchase insurance, since these squeeze middle-income Americans who don’t qualify for Medicaid. From my doctoral work on the subject of public-private partnerships in health care delivery, I believe that combined initiatives — such as “long-term care” (LTC) partnerships with bipartisan support at the federal and state levels — might address this problem. However, these programs must be closely monitored to measure their budgetary impact.

Candidate Response: Peter J. Roskam, Republican

I supported measures in the legislature providing a tax credit for purchasing long-term care insurance. I believe this can be an important tool in making retirement costs more affordable and accessible for all of us planning for their retirement. I oppose proposals to require individuals to purchase long-term care insurance.

Retirement Security

Automatic payroll deduction for IRAs
	Supports	Opposes
AARP
L. Tammy Duckworth, Democrat
Peter J. Roskam, Republican

* If there is no check mark, the candidate was either undecided or chose not to check a box.

Question
Do you support or oppose requiring employers to give workers access to automatic payroll deductions to fund their personal IRAs?

AARP Response
Social Security was never intended to be a worker's only source of retirement income. Even though people know Social Security will not be enough to live on, many find it difficult to save for the future. AARP supports creating and expanding supplemental retirement accounts that enable workers to accumulate retirement savings in addition to Social Security's guaranteed benefits.

AARP supports making saving for retirement simpler and fairer by requiring that employers give workers access to voluntary, automatic payroll deductions to their own IRAs if their employers do not already give them access to a pension or 401(k) plan.

Candidate Response: L. Tammy Duckworth, Democrat

In addition to protecting Social Security, lawmakers must strengthen other sources of retirement income, especially pensions and employer-based retirement plans.

I have spoken at length about the need to protect retirees’ defined benefit packages, an issue of urgency to workers whose companies file Chapter 11 reorganization plans.

I believe that pensions should be modernized; for example, by allowing for portability from job to job, and by promoting automatic payroll deductions to personal IRAs. This would be of special benefit to workers at smaller firms whose employers might not otherwise offer 401(k) plans. I believe that participation should be strictly voluntary. However, if fiscally permissible, Congress could encourage participation by providing tax credits to firms that allow for such deductions to fund employees’ IRA accounts.

Candidate Response: Peter J. Roskam, Republican

We must encourage families to invest in personal retirement accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs are a vital part of sound retirement planning. I will support efforts to educate Sixth District families on their retirement options and encourage increased participation in these personal retirement accounts. An option to consider is a voluntary, automatic payroll deduction.