Tim Walz Brings Unwavering Support for Seniors to the Harris Campaign

Seventy percent of voters did not know who Tim Walz was before Kamala Harris picked him as her running mate on Tuesday. As Americans learn more about the Minnesota Governor and newly-minted VP candidate, they will discover that he is a true champion for seniors - and a welcome addition to the Democratic ticket. As our president and CEO, Max Richtman, put it, Tim Walz has built an impressive record on issues affecting older Americans as a congressman and later as governor:

"He has done everything a governor can do to bolster seniors' ability to retire with dignity and financial and health security. He clearly has kept seniors front of mind." - Max Richtman, President & CEO, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare

In his debut as Harris' running mate at a fiery rally in Philadelphia last night, Walz wasted no time calling out Donald Trump on three of the most important issues for older voters:

Earlier this year, Walz already had established his bona fides as a fighter for seniors. "This election is a binary choice," Walz tweeted in March. "Donald Trump plans to cut Social Security and give tax cuts to the wealthy." Walz added that the Biden-Harris administration "has worked to strengthen Social Security and protect your hard-earned money."

Governor Walz is a living example of how Social Security helps workers and families. His father, James F. Walz, died in 1984 of lung cancer, after which Walz, his brother, and mother began receiving survivors' benefits from Social Security. Governor Walz says those benefits kept the family afloat during difficult times.

"Kamala Harris' selection of Tim Walz as her running mate solidifies the 2024 Democratic ticket as incontestably pro-Social Security, pro-Medicare/Medicaid, and pro-senior," said our president, Max Richtman, in a press statement on Tuesday. In July, we enthusiastically endorsed Kamala Harris for President because of the administration's impressive record on seniors' issues (including protecting Social Security & Medicare and pushing the Inflation Reduction Act through Congress to lower drug prices).

As Newsweek reported yesterday, both Harris and Walz support adjusting the Social Security payroll wage cap to keep the program's trust fund solvent beyond its projected depletion date of 2035. "Harris and Walz have discussed millionaires and billionaires not 'paying their fair share,'" Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek. Michael Ryan, a finance expert quoted in the same article, says Walz is likely to "double down on protecting Social Security as vice president."

"Walz's record speaks for itself," says our president, Max Richtman. As a member of the U.S. House, Walz consistently voted to protect Social Security and Medicare, earning a 100% rating on our legislative scorecard for the 113th and 114th congress. During his five years as governor, Walz has worked to protect Minnesota seniors. His One Minnesota budget included provisions to support older adults and family caregivers at a time when the state's demographic is 'aging rapidly.' During the pandemic, Governor Walz made it a priority to get seniors vaccinated, declaring, "We set out to protect the most vulnerable Minnesotans, and we are honoring that commitment."

"Through his words and actions, Tim Walz has proven himself to be a champion for Minnesota seniors. His advocacy dovetails perfectly with Kamala Harris' commitment to enhancing older American's financial and health security - especially protecting Social Security and Medicare." - Max Richtman, 8/6/24

The new Democratic ticket provides a stark contrast with Donald Trump and J.D. Vance, who cannot be trusted to defend Americans' earned benefits - and who throughout the years have called for cuts to "entitlements" and later tried to back off of those statements. As President, Trump submitted successive White House budgets that included billions of dollars in Social Security and Medicare cuts. He once called Social Security a "Ponzi Scheme" and recklessly suspended the payroll tax that funds Social Security during the pandemic, expressing the hope that the program's main revenue source would be "terminated."

The stakes could not be higher this election year. According to Newsweek, a recent poll found that Social Security and Medicare is "very important" in helping 63 percent of voters decide who to cast their ballot for. "Kamala Harris and Tim Walz have been steadfast in their support of seniors," said Richtman. "We are confident that Harris and her excellent new running mate will earn the votes of workers and retirees across America."

Related Posts

• As Medicare Turns 59, We Still Need to Defend It
• Harris-Walz Is a Winning Ticket for American Seniors
• Why We Endorsed Kamala Harris for President of the United States

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