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91_SJ0032eng
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1 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 32
2 (As amended by Senate Amendments No. 1 and No. 2)
3 WHEREAS, Social Security provides American workers and
4 their families with universal, contributory, wage-related,
5 inflation-adjusted benefits in the event of the retirement,
6 disability or death of a wage earner; and
7 WHEREAS, Social Security is more than a retirement
8 program, it is a family program; Without Social Security,
9 about 54 percent of the population aged 65 and over, and more
10 than 15 million beneficiaries overall, would be living in
11 poverty; About 98 percent of children under age 18 can count
12 on monthly cash benefits if a working parent dies; Seven and
13 a half million Americans with disabilities currently benefit
14 from the program; and
15 WHEREAS, Throughout its existence as a federal program,
16 Social Security's trustees and administrators have carefully
17 modified the benefit and financing structure to ensure the
18 program's viability in light of demographic and economic
19 developments; and
20 WHEREAS, Congressional leaders and the President are
21 seeking to engage the American people in a dialogue about
22 Social Security that could lead toward enactment of
23 bipartisan legislation ensuring Social Security's long-term
24 solvency; and
25 WHEREAS, Social Security is not in crisis and, without
26 any changes, could pay full benefits until 2032 and 75
27 percent of benefits thereafter based on the most recent
28 projections of the Social Security Board of Trustees; and
29 WHEREAS, The long-term solvency of Social Security can be
30 ensured for future generations with measured and timely
31 adjustments to the program made by Congress; and
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1 WHEREAS, The federal Medicare program provides health
2 care for the nation's citizens who qualify for Medicare
3 benefits; and
4 WHEREAS, Medicare benefits are the subject of reform
5 discussions in the United States Congress; and
6 WHEREAS, Participants in the federal Medicare program do
7 not currently enjoy full coverage for prescription
8 medication; therefore, be it
9 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIRST GENERAL
10 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF
11 REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Congress of the
12 United States of America is hereby petitioned to preserve
13 Social Security as a contributory social insurance system
14 where risk is pooled among all workers and participation is
15 mandatory within a covered group; and be it further
16 RESOLVED, That the Congress of the United States of
17 America be urged to ensure the long-term financial viability
18 of Social Security, as described above, and restore public
19 confidence in the future of the program; and be it further
20 RESOLVED, That Social Security must continue as a federal
21 program; having a unified program allows for the portability
22 of benefits, disability and family support protections, and
23 maximum retirement security for low and moderate wage
24 earners; and be it further
25 RESOLVED, That we urge the Congress of the United States
26 of America to provide full benefit coverage for prescription
27 medication under the federal Medicare program; and be it
28 further
29 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
30 delivered to the President of the United States Senate, the
31 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and
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1 each member of the Illinois congressional delegation.
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