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<H1 class=detail_standard_title>Divided Nation? Not if You Talk to Voters about
Social Security & Medicare</H1>
<DIV id=detail_standard_subtitle class=detail_standard_subtitle><B>New National
Polling Shows Americans of All Ages Oppose Cutting Middle-Class Benefits to
Reduce the Debt</B> </DIV>
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<P>New national Election Day polling released by the National Committee to
Preserve Social Security and Medicare and Lake Research Partners shows that the
disconnect between middle-class Americans and Washington on how best to put our
fiscal house in order has never been larger. </P>
<P><B><I>“It’s clear the American people simply aren’t buying deficit crisis
claims that the only way to reign in the deficit is to cut middle-class programs
like Social Security and Medicare. Our national polling shows broad bipartisan
support for reform proposals such as raising Social Security’s payroll tax cap
and allowing Medicare to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices.
However, Americans of all ages and political stripes oppose cutting benefits and
members of Congress should heed the message voters of both parties have clearly
delivered.” Max Richtman, NCPSSM President/CEO </I></B></P>
<P>While many in Congress want to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid to
reduce the deficit, strong majorities of voters across party lines disagree with
that approach.</P>
<UL>
<LI>85% of those polled say Social Security and Medicare were important
factors in casting their 2012 vote</LI>
<LI>By a 3-1 margin, voters overwhelmingly support preserving the traditional
Medicare program rather than giving retirees a voucher, even a plurality of
Republican voters preferred this approach</LI>
<LI>Voters strongly oppose cutting Social Security benefits with 71% opposed
to means-testing and 67% opposed to raising the retirement age</LI>
<LI>64% strongly oppose cutting Medicare benefits for future retirees and 59%
oppose cutting payments to Medicare providers</LI></UL>
<P>While cutting the deficit ranks far below the economy and jobs as a priority
for Americans polled, they do support two reforms impacting Social Security and
Medicare: </P>
<UL>
<LI>64% support raising the Social Security payroll tax cap so that higher
income earners contribute on all of their earnings, just as lower wage workers
do. That includes 75% of Democrats, 63% of Independents and 54% of
Republicans</LI>
<LI>86% of those polled want Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug
prices, saving the program billions of dollars each year. </LI></UL>
<P>Letters from more than 100,000 National Committee members and supporters
nationwide urging their representatives to reject middle-class benefit cuts in
the name of deficit reduction are also being delivered to Congress this
week. </P>
<P>The National Committee’s poll is on our website at: <A
href="http://www.ncpssm.org/Portals/0/pdf/post-election-polls.pdf">http://www.ncpssm.org/Portals/0/pdf/post-election-polls.pdf</A></P></DIV></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>