Members of Congress to Feel the Heat in Home Districts This Week After Votes to Cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid

Senior citizens, workers and advocates from around the country will hold 40 events this week in at least 18 states, many of them targeting House Republicans who voted to cut funding for the Social Security Administration, end Medicare as we know it and slash Medicaid. The events will also encourage Senate Democrats to hold the line against including Social Security as part of any deficit-reduction deal, as grassroots activists have organized their concerns into direct local actions.

Most of the events will occur on Thursday, April 28, and are being organized under the theme "Don't Make Us Work 'Til We Die." The event webpage includes a map of all events, a short video that expresses the themes of the actions, and fliers for 41 members of Congress showing their recent voting record against the interests of seniors and working families. Local and national news media can find local contacts, their phone numbers and e-mails here.

"Americans will send a clear message this week. Radically cutting Social Security , Medicare and Medicaid protections is no way to balance the budget especially after years of huge tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires," said Eric Kingson, Co-chair of the Strengthen Social Security Campaign. "Maintaining Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid is vital to the well-being of American families and Members of Congress will hear that on street corners and at town halls nationwide."

The Congressional District events take place as members of the U.S. House of Representatives recently voted to cut $1.7 billion in funding for the Social Security Administration (in H.R. 1); and voted for a Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Resolution that would shift Medicare to a voucher program putting seniors at the mercy of insurance companies, double a typical senior's health care costs, and raise the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67; slash Medicaid spending by $1.4 trillion; and give a $1.1 trillion tax break to the richest Americans while lowering the tax rate of wealthy individuals and corporations from 35 percent today to 25 percent. And these events are taking place while some politicians are advocating huge cuts in Social Security benefits, even while acknowledging that Social Security is not a cause of the nation's deficits.

In Cortland, New York, seniors and community-members will sing an original song called "Hard Hearted Hanna" at the offices of Rep. Richard Hanna (NY-24). In Florida at the office of Rep. Dennis Ross (FL-12) activists dressed as zombies will ask Ross not to make them "work 'til they die" and then work more after they die. In Arizona, three district offices of Congressman Paul Gosar (AZ-1) will be visited the same day to ask him if he'll make us "work 'til we die." In Little Rock, Arkansas, dozens of activists will draw attention to the votes Reps. Rick Crawford (AR-1) and Tim Griffin (AR-2) recently took that would cut Social Security's operating budget and weaken Medicare and Medicaid. In many other cities and towns across America, voices will ring out asking Congress not to make us "work 'til we die."

A list of targeted members of Congress and their votes can be found here in individual fact sheets liked by name and district: Gosar (AZ-01), Crawford (R, AR-1), Griffin (R, AR-2), Denham (R, CA-19), Nunes (R, CA-21), McCarthy (R, CA-22), Tipton (R, CO-3), Webster (R, FL-8), Bilirakis (R, FL-9), Young (R, FL-10), Ross (R, FL-12), West (R, FL-22), Adams (R, FL-24), Rivera (R, FL-25), Johnson (R, IL-15), Latham (R, IA-4), Kline (R, MN-2), Paulsen (R, MN-3), Bachmann (R, MN-6), Cravaack (R, MN-8), Hartzler (R, MO-4), Luetkemeyer (R, MO-9), Heller (R, NV-2), Heck (R, NV-3), Guinta (R, NH-1), Bass (R, NH-2), Pearce (R, NM-2), King (R, NY-3), Grimm (R, NY-13), Gibson (R, NY-20), Hanna (R, NY-24), Buerkle (R, NY-25), Reed (R, NY-29), Ellmers (R, NC-2), Meehan (R, PA-7), Fitzpatrick (R, PA-8), Marino (R, PA-10), Barletta (R, PA-11), Murphy (R, PA-18), Cantor (R, VA-7), Ryan (R, WI-1)

"These members of Congress have already taken a stand - the wrong stand," said Nancy Altman, Co-director of Social Security Works. "They need to rethink their priorities - protect America's seniors and families or give tax breaks to the wealthy and corporations."