Now that Democrats in Congress have passed the American Rescue plan, Logan County schools are using Rescue Plan funding to make badly needed improvements. Rather than crediting the Democratic controlled Congress for these funds, our local school boards and the Logan County Board refer to the money as “federal funds.” But make no mistake, without Democratic victories at the polls, the funding would never have materialized. We await the day when elected officials in Logan County give credit when credit is due.

In the meantime, here are some things tha we Democrats will try to accomplish in the days ahead.

Once elected Democrats will work to:

• lower the age of Medicare eligibility to 60, reflecting the difficulty many older Americans face in getting jobs;

• allow Medicare to negotiate prescription prices by leveraging its buying power thereby lowering the cost of our medications;

• expand the Affordable Care Act by creating a voluntary public option health program patterned after Medicare;

• ensure that no family’s Medicare insurance premiums total more than 8.5 percent of its income;

• guarantee that those who have received Social Security for 30 years will receive a benefit worth at least 125 percent of the federal poverty level;

• allow survivors of Social Security beneficiaries to keep a greater than 50 percent share of their late spouses Social Security benefits;

• increase the number of employers who offer their employees a 401K retirement savings program;

• make it easier for older workers to prove that they were discriminated against on the job;

• increase eligibility for earned income credits;

• support family caregivers through a $5,000 tax credit

More than 2,200 Logan County Democrats invite their Republican friends to support these initiatives — even though their current lawmakers do not.

For details contact: Gary Davis, Logan County Democratic Central Committee Chair, gwdavis44@comcast.net, or (217) 737-3359