Chellie Pingree never anticipated a life in politics. Living on the offshore island of North Haven, Maine, she raised her kids and ran a small business. She served on the school board and as the local tax assessor, a job no one else in town wanted. But in 1991, when she was approached about running for State Senate, she jumped at the chance.
She scored a remarkable upset, defeating a popular Republican, and went on to serve four terms in the Maine Senate. But throughout her political career, from Augusta to Washington and beyond, the lessons she learned on North Haven have always been her guide: Be accountable to your neighbors, and always use your common sense.
Medicare and Social Security work to keep thousands of Mainers out of poverty. But they've become targets for those who'd rather cut benefits than having the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share. We need to protect these critical benefits and make sure they are there for the next generation.
For 60 years, Medicare has given millions of seniors the health care they need and kept them out of poverty. It's a benefit our seniors have worked hard to earn. Still, some see it as a way to balance a deficit that our seniors to cause. I'm against any cutting for Medicare benefits and medical care for our retirees and I vow to fight any proposals to do so.
Social Security is another important benefit that seniors worked hard to earn. But some want to change the program by scaring people into thinking it won't be around for the future. That's simply not true. There are ways to strengthen Social Security without cutting benefits.
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