Politics & Government

Meng Pledges to Protect Medicare in Bayside

Accuses Republicans of openly plotting to roll back senior health care assistance.

On a rainy Tuesday in Bayside, Assemblywoman Grace Meng, D-Flushing, vowed to prevent cuts to Medicare if elected to Congress in November.

Meng, who is running against Republican Dan Halloran, R-Bayside, accused the GOP of being overeager to cut back on the long-standing federal senior health care assistance plan.

“Our seniors have worked hard raising families, serving our country, and building strong businesses and communities," Meng said. "Too many in Washington are too eager to shamefully turn their backs on our seniors. Republican plans for Medicare would end guaranteed benefits for our seniors and destroy the traditional Medicare option.”

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Meng stood with former U.S. Rep. Liz Holtzman, who worked in the Capitol for eight years at a senior center in Bayside, flanked by a handful of supporters.

"Preserving this program is simply non-negotiable. As a member of Congress, I’ll fight to ensure Medicare is not played as a bargaining chip by the Tea Party-dominated Republican Party as we work to get our country’s fiscal house in order, reduce our national debt and close the deficit," Meng said.

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Holtzman agreed.

"Seniors are rightly worried these days about important programs like Medicare being harmed by the misguided policies of the Tea Party Republicans in Washington, D.C," she said. "We need a Congress that is working for us, not against us."


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