Congressman Larry Bucshon, M.D. (pronounced: “Boo-shon”) represents the Eighth District of Indiana, which encompasses all or part of 19 counties in Southwest and West Central Indiana.
Since coming to Congress, Larry has been a champion for advancing patient-centered health care reforms that will give patients and their doctors the freedom to make their own health care decisions as opposed to Washington bureaucrats. He has also been a leader in the fight to end the opioid epidemic, having been just one of eight lawmakers from around the nation recognized by the Coalition to Stop Opioid Overdose in 2016 for his work on the issue. Beyond health care, Larry has also been a recognized leader on transportation issues when he previously served on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
Safety net programs for senior citizens are considered mandatory spending, meaning the federal government is legally obligated to make these payments regardless of the cost; therefore it is not controlled as a part of the annual appropriations process. Mandatory spending currently encompasses more than 60 percent of all federal spending, and most entitlements are not capped at a specific spending level.
I firmly believe that we must live up to the commitment made to our nation’s seniors. Americans at or near retirement should not see changes to their promised benefits. However, in order to protect Social Security and Medicare for future generations, we must provide commonsense reforms to strengthen and preserve these programs. In fact, according to the Medicare Trustees the Trust Fund will be insolvent in 15 years and the Social Security Trustees indicate the Social Security Trust Fund will begin consistently paying out more than it receives in 2033 Congress should work in a bipartisan fashion with the White House to meet this challenge. Not acting on entitlement reform will result in these programs not being available for future generations.