Issues and AARP Candidate Questionnaire Completed: March 6, 2006

By Delecia Holt

Question: Do you support or oppose replacing part of Social Security with private individual accounts? Delecia Holt: While I oppose private, individual accounts out of Social Security monies. Coupling individual social security retirement accounts with individual investment accounts (e.g., pensions, money markets, stocks, bonds, savings,etc.) greatly enhances a retiree's future.

One morning my Mother and Grandmother were sitting at the front door waiting for the transportation van to arrive...it was now 6:45am, no van...7:00am no van...7:15am no van and my Grandmother contacts the transportation company to inquire what had happened to the driver as there had been a light snow the previous night.

The dispatcher for the transportation company informed my Grandmother that they were no longer authorized had authorized SSI benefit funds for my mother's transportation and that the two women would have to find alternate transportation so my Mother could get to the hospital and receive her life sustaining kidney dialysis treatment that day. My Grandmother began to cry outside of the presence of my Mother, composed herself, kissed her daughter on the forehead and told her that she would call Brother Johnson, a member of the church, to get a ride to the hospital. She called the hospital to inform them of what had taken place and asked them to hold a chair for my mother that she would be there soon. They informed her that they had other patients scheduled and that they would try to fit here in that day if they could. My Grandmother reminded the nurse of the phone that if my Mother had already gone two full days without her blood bring filtered and that the toxins were building up and pleaded with the m to let her daughter undergo dialysis no matter what time they arrived. The nurse complied and asked them to get there as soon as they could. My Grandmother contacted Brother Johnson from the church, he picked them up in the church van and ferried them to the hospital. My Mother seemed a bit lethargic but the technician began her dialysis treatment.

I received a phone call from my Uncle who told me that my Grandmother had called him from the dialysis center, crying and stating that my Mother had succumbed, flat lined while hooked up to the dialysis machine and that the paramedics had been called to drive her across the parking lot of the hospital for admittance into the emergency room. The paramedics had asked for her insurance and had called in the insurance from the dialysis ward only to now find that my Mother's SSI benefits and Medicare had been interrupted so they could not use the ambulance to transport her. So, the paramedics put her lifeless body on a gurney and worked on resuscitating her as they ran down the hallways of the hospital towards to emergency room on the other side of the hospital.

After what seemed like forever, I received another phone call from my Grandmother who informed me that the hospital could not admit my Mother without another form of payment on file, since SSI and Medicare had been cut off. I gave her my credit card number and asked them to bill it.

My Mother was revived and was admitted to the hospital for treatment and remained there for nearly a week. My Grandmother and my Mother's case manager jump through hoops each month to keep my Mother's SSI and Medicare coverage in effect so she may receive the dialysis treatment she needs three time a week to keep her body alive. The stress that my Mother and Grandmother are under each day is unimaginable and no one should ever be told that they cannot receive medical attention because their SSI or Medicare benefits have run out.

As your Congresswoman, I shall help to provide law enforcement officials the tools they need to properly identify and track down illegal immigrants and those that ferry them across our borders. These illegal immigrant smuggling rings are well funded and well organized with safe houses situated throughout our country to hide illegal immigrants and assist them in reaching their appointed destinations. I will make certain that law enforcement officials understand the culture and the mindset of those in charge of coordinating these smuggling rings and assist them with the proper investigative forensic tools to impede the human trafficker's goal of obtaining a dollar for a pound of flesh, regardless of whether it is found by authorities, alive or dead. Immigration directly affects our national security and s directly related to our need for national defense.

"I will work for the day when the "Amber Alert" is not a necessity to recover a stolen child, but a beacon informing the public that another pedophile, child rapist, child murderer, child kidnapper has been removed from the general population we call society, never to be heard from again. That is the legacy we as women and Mother's must leave for our children. For if we do not stand together and protect them, who will?

We as women and members of this country must mandate that the local, state and federal agencies secure our borders to keep illegal immigrants that commit crimes against our children out of our country and that home grown predators be made to pay severely for committing a crime against a child. A child's life is worth more than any child predator's life and should be valued as such! The scales of justice are tipping in favor of our children." Delecia Holt, August 25,2005 @ Women for Change - Fundraiser As your Congresswoman, I shall help to provide law enforcement officials the tools they need to properly identify and track down (e.g. all known child molesters, child kidnappers, child rapists, pedophiles, child murderers, by having their DNA samples gathered and entered into the national data bank, have the samples properly stored for future data analysis by local agencies, state agencies, The FBI, CIA, DEA or ATF for proper profiling), gather the evidence they need to convict and successfully prosecute those that knowingly choose to harm our children. Working together, we can achieve safer neighborhoods for our children in the next few years.

As your Congresswoman, I shall help to provide small business owners with much needed tax relief, develop job creation incentives for small business owners to assist with the hiring and retention of legal, skilled and qualified employees ensuring them health benefits. While ensuring that business owners do not have to endure fraudulent worker's comp cases that mount to untold losses due to frivolous lawsuits with absorbent punitive damages being awarded to career criminals that file such lawsuits. By doing so we can help small business owners invest in new technology and expand their businesses thereby employing more of our family members and neighbors.

Full text of AARP's Candidate Questionnaire on
Social Security, prescription Drugs, Medicare and
Long-Term Healthcare completed by:
Delecia Holt on March 6,2006

Thank you for completing the AARP Voters' Guide Questionnaire. Please limit your comments to no more than 125 words after checking a box. Although AARP will not alter or edit responses, space limitations allow us to print only the first 125 words for each comment. Response from: Delecia Holt, Republican Candidate 50th Congressional District

SOCIAL SECURITY

AARP's position:

AARP strongly opposes replacing ANY part of Social Security with private individual accounts. Social Security is not in crisis. Without any changes in current law, Social Security can pay 100% of benefits until 2042. But private individual accounts funded with Social Security dollars mean Social Security would face financial problems sooner.

"Personal control" sounds appealing. But substituting private individual accounts, even for part of Social Security, drains money from Social Security, which means less money to pay guaranteed benefits.

Creating these private individual accounts requires trading today's inflation-protected lifetime guaranteed benefit for an account subject to market risk and not guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Inflation, market turns, or sudden loss of employment can also mean that your private individual account may not have enough money to provide an adequate benefit. AARP supports options that help Americans save for their retirement through individual accounts on top of Social Security; but opposes replacing any part of Social Security's guaranteed benefit.

Please check appropriate box: □ Supports creating private individual accounts out of Social Security. ■ Opposes creating private individual accounts out of Social Security.

Question: Do you support or oppose replacing part of Social Security with private individual accounts? (Please limit your response to 125 words) Delecia Holt: While I oppose private, individual accounts out of Social Security monies. Coupling individual social security retirement accounts with individual investment accounts (e.g., pensions, money markets, stocks, bonds, savings accounts, etc.) greatly enhances a retiree's ability to secure their future.

Saving Social Security is extremely, important. I received a phone call from my...Grandmother...crying, stating that my Mother had expired, while hooked up to the dialysis machine. Paramedics were called to revive her and drive her across the parking lot for admittance into the emergency room. Her SSI benefits and Medicare had been interrupted...the ambulance could not be used. They put her lifeless body on a gurney and worked on resuscitating her as they ran down the hallways of the hospital towards the emergency room...

AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE

AARP's Position:

AARP supports measures to achieve access to affordable health care coverage for all individuals, an approach that would address the needs of those without public or private insurance or those at risk of losing coverage.

In the absence of universal coverage, AARP supports incremental reforms that significantly improve coverage options for those without public or private insurance or those at risk of losing coverage.

These reforms include:
1.Opening existing public programs (for example Medicaid, Medicare) to new categories of people who are uninsured
2.Encouraging employers to offer and expand coverage
3.Subsidizing the cost of private coverage for those who are uninsured, under insured or at risk of losing coverage
4.Expanding the continuation of group health care coverage at group rates to persons whose access is ending (for example expanding COBRA coverage).

Please check appropriate box:

■ Supports employer incentives □ Opposes employer incentives
----- ■ Supports expanding public programs □ Opposes expanding public programs

Question: In the face of escalating costs, how would you reform the health care system to make it available, affordable and accessible for every American? (Please limit your response to 125 words) Delecia Holt: Because the hospital would not admit my Mother without current Medicare coverage, though it had been terminated due to human error on the part of her caseworker, I am well aware of how important this issues is. The hospital would not admit her without another form of payment. So, I gave them my credit card number. I will work to ensure that Medicaid and Medicare are immediately reformed to include coverage for all U.S. citizens that are uninsured, require that employers offer and expand coverage for their employees. As well as require employers subsidize the cost of private coverage for those who are uninsured, under insured or at risk of losing coverage by making certain that ex-employees are afforded reasonable rates on COBRA insurance.

PRESCRIPTION DRUG COSTS

AARP's position:

Legislation adding a prescription drug benefit to Medicare became law in 2003. While this is a good first step, the benefit does not cover the drug costs between $2,250 and $5,100 for most Medicare beneficiaries. AARP supports closing the gap in coverage for all beneficiaries and believes that more must be done to bring down soaring drug prices. AARP supports the legal importation of prescription drugs beginning with Canada and allowing the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries if competitive purchasing doesn't work.

Please check the appropriate box: ■ Supports closing the coverage gap □ Opposes closing the coverage gap
------ ■ Supports legal importation from Canada □ Opposes legal importation from Canada
------ ■ Supports HHS secretary negotiations □ Opposes HHS secretary negotiations

Question: How would you propose to reduce drug costs and close the gap in coverage for all Medicare beneficiaries? (Please limit your response to 125 words) Delecia Holt: Congress must require that American pharmaceutical companies not be allowed to over price medications, or hold back the release of approved generic medications. We must also reduce the administrative costs in pharmaceutical companies and allow the legalized and oversee the import of Canadian prescription drugs. Cut waste by closing the gap of prescription drug costs and monitoring the overall expenditures provided by HHS and other government agencies to big pharmaceutical companies during drug development and pass those savings on to the uninsured, under insured or those at risk of losing medical and prescription drug coverage.

LONG-TERM CARE

AARP's position:

At some point, most Americans will need some help with daily activities (such as dressing or bathing). Many will also need other supportive services. Currently, the U.S. has no national policy or established system for delivering these services to Americans with long term care needs. The care giving burden on millions of families is often overwhelming.

AARP supports measures that provide individuals' access to long term care services and assure quality + especially those services in people's homes and communities, so that fewer people need to move to institutions. These improvements can be done by:

1. increasing consumer control and decision-making;

2. supporting caregivers through respite care and tax credits;

3. making it easier to find the services that are right for an individual's circumstances;

4. building an efficient system to deliver services, whether in homes, communities, or institutions;

5. increasing training and numbers of direct care staff across all settings; and

6. improving coordination between medical and long-term care.

Expanding home and community-based services will reduce the cost burden to individuals and families, meet their preferences, and help prevent unnecessary institutionalization.

Please check appropriate box:

■ Supports giving individuals more and better home and community based care options

□ Opposes giving individuals more and better home and community based care options
----- ■ Supports increased training and staffing numbers across all settings

□ Opposes increased training and staffing numbers across all settings
----- ■ Supports expanding stable financing sources

□ Opposes expanding stable financing sources

Question: What do you propose to give consumers more and better options for long term care; promote better, more integrated delivery systems; expand stable financing sources for all long term care options, especially in home and community based settings; and strengthen support for family caregivers? (Please limit your response to 125 words) Delecia Holt: Congress has the moral responsibility to make certain that all Americans are afforded long-term health care. Whether they choose a hospice facility or prefer to have in-home visits towards the end. This can be accomplished by allowing participants and employers to pay into the system and run it like a private company. For ease of client access, Congress must institute a national health care plan that incorporates health insurance for pregnant moms, well-baby check ups, general healthcare for the overall aging population which culminates with long-term care for all Americans at an affordable cost that has been subsidized by employers to ease the burden on the Medicaid and Medicare systems Like the "Healthy Families" program, for low-income families, I helped to start in California.

Completed: March 6, 2006 Thank you for allowing me to participate in this Q and A as it confirms my belief that affordable healthcare and continued social security benefits for all U.S. Citizens is crucial if we as a nation are to prosper and retain the family values we have fought so many wars to defend. If we do not take care of our own, no one will!

"We as Americans must support our candidates. That is why I need you to join my team regardless of political party. Help me change the way Congress is currently run. We can reform congress together!

Vote Holt on April 1,2006 and
Thank you for your support.
Delecia Holt, representing all political parties!" Email: wwwvoteholt.com