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91_SJ0032enr 1 91SJ0032 Enrolled SRS91SJ0010ABsa 2 STATE OF ILLINOIS 3 NINETY-FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY 4 SENATE 5 Senate Joint Resolution No. 32 6 Offered by Senators Parker, Geo-Karis, Bowles, Fawell, 7 Shadid, Klemm, DeLeo, Jacobs, Bomke, Peterson, Lauzen, 8 Radogno, Dudycz, Molaro, Donahue, Sullivan, del Valle, 9 Lightford and Trotter. 10 WHEREAS, Social Security provides American workers and 11 their families with universal, contributory, wage-related, 12 inflation-adjusted benefits in the event of the retirement, 13 disability or death of a wage earner; and 14 WHEREAS, Social Security is more than a retirement 15 program, it is a family program; without Social Security, 16 about 54 percent of the population aged 65 and over, and more 17 than 15 million beneficiaries overall, would be living in 18 poverty; about 98 percent of children under age 18 can count 19 on monthly cash benefits if a working parent dies; seven and 20 a half million Americans with disabilities currently benefit 21 from the program; and 22 WHEREAS, Throughout its existence as a federal program, 23 Social Security's trustees and administrators have carefully 24 modified the benefit and financing structure to ensure the 25 program's viability in light of demographic and economic 26 developments; and 27 WHEREAS, Congressional leaders and the President are 28 seeking to engage the American people in a dialogue about 29 Social Security that could lead toward enactment of 30 bipartisan legislation ensuring Social Security's long-term 31 solvency; and 32 WHEREAS, Social Security is not in crisis and, without 33 any changes, could pay full benefits until 2032 and 75 34 percent of benefits thereafter based on the most recent 91SJ0032 Enrolled -2- SRS91SJ0010ABsa 1 projections of the Social Security Board of Trustees; and 2 WHEREAS, The long-term solvency of Social Security can be 3 ensured for future generations with measured and timely 4 adjustments to the program made by Congress; and 5 WHEREAS, The federal Medicare program provides health 6 care for the nation's citizens who qualify for Medicare 7 benefits; and 8 WHEREAS, Medicare benefits are the subject of reform 9 discussions in the United States Congress; and 10 WHEREAS, Participants in the federal Medicare program do 11 not currently enjoy full coverage for prescription 12 medication; therefore, be it 13 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIRST GENERAL 14 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF 15 REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Congress of the 16 United States of America is hereby petitioned to preserve 17 Social Security as a contributory social insurance system 18 where risk is pooled among all workers and participation is 19 mandatory within a covered group; and be it further 20 RESOLVED, That the Congress of the United States of 21 America be urged to ensure the long-term financial viability 22 of Social Security, as described above, and restore public 23 confidence in the future of the program; and be it further 24 RESOLVED, That Social Security must continue as a federal 25 program; having a unified program allows for the portability 26 of benefits, disability and family support protections, and 27 maximum retirement security for low and moderate wage 28 earners; and be it further 29 RESOLVED, That we urge the Congress of the United States 30 of America to provide full benefit coverage for prescription 91SJ0032 Enrolled -3- SRS91SJ0010ABsa 1 medication under the federal Medicare program; and be it 2 further 3 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be 4 delivered to the President of the United States Senate, the 5 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and 6 each member of the Illinois congressional delegation. 7 Adopted by the Senate, May 20, 1999. 8 _______________________ 9 President of the Senate 10 _______________________ 11 Secretary of the Senate 12 Concurred in by the House of Representatives, May 25, 13 1999. 14 _________________________ 15 Speaker of House of 16 Representatives 17 _________________________ 18 Clerk of House of 19 Representatives