A former labor lawyer, Linda T. Sánchez represents California’s 38th congressional district – but the first thing her family and friends will tell you is that she’s never stopped “kicking ass for the working class.” Most of all, she is also a proud mom, dog lover, and Dodgers fan.
Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2002, Sánchez is the first Latina to serve on the powerful House Committee on Ways and Means and the House Judiciary Committee. A lifelong progressive, Sánchez has devoted her career to helping working people get ahead: advocating for families, improving America’s education system, and bringing jobs to Southern California.
For generations, our nation has lived by a simple promise: Americans who have worked hard their entire lives have the right to retire with dignity and security. Seniors’ golden years should be “golden”—living in good health, without financial insecurity. Our seniors have worked hard and kept their end of the deal. I will always fight to ensure our government keeps its end of the deal and protects senior citizens.
I will fight against efforts to privatize Social Security and proposals to turn Medicare and Medicaid into block grant programs. These programs have made an immeasurable difference in our daily lives and I assure you that I will do everything I can to strengthen, protect, and improve these essential programs.
Dismantling the promise of Social Security would take away guaranteed, inflation proof benefits for today’s children and young adults. No one wants to return to the tragic days before Social Security, when seniors would work until the day they died because they could not afford to retire. To honor a lifetime of work and service, I will continue working with my colleagues to protect, strengthen, and expand Social Security.
I am proud to have helped pass the Affordable Care Act and the improvements it made to Medicare. The ACA makes Medicare stronger by adding new benefits, fighting fraud, and improving care for patients. And we’re already seeing results: So far, 8.2 million seniors have saved more than $11.5 billion on their prescription drugs since 2010, an average of $1,407 per senior. And over the next ten years, the law will save the average person in Medicare $4,200.
Today, more than 37 million seniors in Medicare have also received free preventive services with no co-pay under the Affordable Care Act, and Medicare Part B premiums have held steady for the past few years. The ACA also managed to control medical costs and extend the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund until at least 2030. These are remarkable accomplishments and I’m proud to support health care reform that provides better care and better results for our seniors.