Carson Lends His Support to AARP’s “Divided We Fail” Initiative

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman André Carson threw his support behind AARP's "Divided We Fail" campaign. "Divided We Fail" is an AARP campaign to solve the increasingly difficult issues of affordable health care and lifetime financial security. Below is the text of the letter that Congressman Carson sent to AARP's Congressional Relations Office signaling his strong support for the organization's initiative.

September 16, 2008

Kristin Keckeisen
Divided We Fail Campaign
AARP Congressional Relations and Political Affairs
601 E St. NW
S10-245
Washington, DC 20049

Dear Kristin,

I write to you today in strong support of the goals and ideals laid out in the "Divided We Fail" Campaign". Now, more than ever, fixing our broken healthcare and social security system must be a priority to those of us in government. Americans all over the country are united in the realization that two of our most vital institutions are broken and something must be done to ensure their survival for future generations. Those of us in elected office, be it Congress, the White House or local and state government need to find a way to work together, within our own party and across party lines, to come up with feasible solutions. I pledge to you that I will use my voice as a member of Congress to advocate for smart, fair solutions to the challenges we face regarding social security and healthcare that will benefit all Americans.

The numbers are staggering. 45 million people, over 600,000 of them in my state alone, are without health insurance because the cost has become prohibitive. We spend $1.6 trillion on healthcare in this country – over 15% of our GDP - but our health care system ranks 37th in the world. Solutions are needed to make healthcare more affordable and accessible to all Americans.

This country also needs to change the way we prepare for retirement. Too many Americans do not or can not afford to save for retirement. Social Security, one of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal programs, needs to be shored up and modernized to better serve today's seniors, and it needs to be done without burdening future generations.

While the magnitude of problems sometimes seems daunting, I have no doubt that the challenges we face today will ultimately be our achievements of tomorrow. I again reiterate my strong support of the goals of your campaign to bring real change to our nation's healthcare and social security systems.

Sincerely,
André Carson
Member of Congress

-- 30 --