It is estimated that raising the retirement age to 70 would cut the shortfall by about 36%. But this proposal has some drawbacks. Women and men who have worked jobs that require manual labor all of their lives may not physically be able to do work until they are 70 years old.

Since Social Security was established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935 to ensure economic security for American workers, poverty among American seniors has dramatically declined.

For these reasons, women tend to rely more heavily on Social Security in their retirement than do men.

As a result of the current universal benefit, the poverty rate for seniors in America is about 10%. Without the universal benefit, it would be over 50%.

I always try to keep my constituents as up-to-date as possible with what's going on here in Washington.

After 9/11, the businesses in my district and throughout the New York metropolitan area saw firsthand the result of a lack of availability of terrorism insurance.

You can be sure that I will always consider how changes to Social Security will impact people with disabilities when considering the various proposals offered for reform.