Des Moines, IA - Rep. Bruce Braley has earned the endorsement of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare PAC, an organization dedicated to protecting Social Security and Medicare benefits for all communities and generations.

Max Richtman, President and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, said Braley "earned the endorsement of the National Committee because you understand and support the critical roles that Social Security and Medicare play in the retirement and health security of our nation's older citizens and their families."

Braley said, "Protecting Social Security and Medicare is vitally important for the tens of thousands of Iowa seniors who rely on these programs for a secure retirement. Workers who have paid into Social Security and Medicare their entire lives should be able to count on their promise when they retire. That's why I've fought against schemes to privatize Social Security and transform Medicare as we know it, because these risky plans threatens the benefits of current seniors and ends the promise of guaranteed benefits for future generations. We should strengthen these programs, not undermine them."

The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare's endorsement letter can be downloaded at the following link: http://bit.ly/SW5uvL

Braley has strongly opposed efforts to privatize Social Security and transform Medicare into a voucher program. Braley has also opposed efforts to reduce future Social Security benefits for retirees if cost-of-living increases were shifted to a so-called "chained CPI" calculation.

In contrast, state Sen. Joni Ernst has called for privatization of Social Security, a position that would undermine benefits for current retirees. Sen. Ernst has also supported plans that would transform Medicare as we know it and pave the way for Medicare vouchers, increasing costs for retirees.

Braley has made protecting Social Security and Medicare a key focus of his campaign for Senate. On Monday, Braley hosted a pair of Retirement Security Roundtable events in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines to meet with Iowa seniors and discuss the future of Social Security and Medicare and how to safeguard the programs for current retirees and future generations of workers.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, more than 530,000 Iowans were enrolled in Medicare in 2012. The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare calculates that Iowa has more than 584,000 Social Security beneficiaries, with the average senior receiving a monthly benefit of $1,131.

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