WASHINGTON, DC: Today, Congresswoman Jen Kiggans (VA-02) announced that she has cosponsored two resolutions to protect programs critical to Virginia’s seniors and their healthcare: Social Security and Medicare. Specifically, she cosponsored H.Res.118 to reaffirm the House’s commitment to save and strengthen Medicare as a vital program for senior healthcare. She also cosponsored H.Res.117, which recognizes Social Security as a key pillar of retirement security for tens of millions of Americans and reaffirms the U.S. House of Representatives’ commitment to not cut Social Security. 
 
“One of the reasons I chose to pursue public office was to protect the more than 66 million Americans who rely on Social Security and the more than 58 million Americans who depend on Medicare,” said Congresswoman Kiggans. “As the only geriatric nurse practitioner in Congress, I have a unique understanding of how important these programs are to our seniors. They’ve spent their entire lives paying into these programs with the promise that the government would pay them back; that’s a promise I intend to keep. No matter how many partisan rumors get thrown around by the White House, my stance will not change: I will always prioritize the needs of our seniors, my patients, and protect Social Security and Medicare.”
 
The two resolutions were offered by Republicans to reaffirm their commitment to protect and preserve Social Security and Medicare and ensure good faith negotiations over the upcoming debt ceiling can occur later this year with that commitment in place.
 
BACKGROUND

After serving in the U.S. Navy, Congresswoman Kiggans used her GI Bill benefits to go back to school and become a board-certified Adult-Geriatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner. A graduate of Old Dominion University’s Nursing School and Vanderbilt University’s Nurse Practitioner program, she has worked in several long-term care and nursing facilities in Virginia Beach and Norfolk in addition to serving as a primary care provider for a small private practice in Virginia Beach.

After the State of the Union, Congresswoman Kiggans was interviewed by CSPAN, during which she reiterated her commitment to supporting Medicare in addition to addressing general, much-needed healthcare improvements. You can watch that interview here(healthcare section starts at 0:38).

During 2023, nearly 67 million Americans per month will receive a Social Security benefit. As of December 31, 2022, nearly 90% of people aged 65 and older were receiving at least one form of Social Security benefit, accounting for approximately 30% of the income of the elderly. Today, 58.6 million Americans receive Medicare benefits, with nearly half (28.4 million people) of those beneficiaries being enrolled in Medicare Advantage Plans.

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