To the editor:

Max Richtman, the president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, states:

“This election, more than any other, will determine whether seniors’ earned benefits are protected and expanded or cut and privatized. Workers pay for these benefits with their hard-earned payroll contributions over the course of their lifetimes. Amid a pandemic that has taken a disproportionate toll on older Americans, it is critical that voters understand their House and Senate members’ votes on key legislation affecting seniors. Our Congressional Scorecard will help voters compare incumbents’ public statements with their actual records.”

To see how your representatives voted on issues related to Social Security and Medicare, go to www.ncpssm.org/scorecard and click on the name of our state. This will bring up a listing of Senators and House members with their voting records on issues that concern our ability to keep and maintain social security and medicare, with a percentage score from 0-100% The closer the score is to 100%, the more votes which were made in favor of seniors’ interests.

I personally want to preserve and strengthen these vital lifelines for myself and my children and grandchildren. No government has the right to play russian roulette with the benefits we have worked hard for all of our working careers. These are entitlements which we deserve to count on when we need them the most.

Jaklyn Hutchins

Sleepy Eye