Calls for bipartisan effort needed to strengthen Social Security

April 5, 2011 (Washington D.C.)—The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) today issued sharp criticism of the budget proposed by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan and backed by House Republicans.

Nancy A. LeaMond, executive vice president of AARP, said the Republican proposal to reduce the deficit “lacks balance and would result in a large cost shift to current and future retirees. The Chairman’s proposal, rather than tackling skyrocketing health care costs, would simply shift these costs onto the backs of people in Medicare,” she warned. “It would undermine Medicare’s promise of secure health coverage—a guarantee that future seniors have contributed to through a lifetime of hard work.”