Sander Levin

In terms of Medicare, I'm in favor of sitting down and having a serious discussion about the likely impact of the Affordable Care Act, health-care reform, on the cost issue and changing the fee-for-service structure.

I had panels - roundtables in the district - and the stories that were told are really difficult to accept. People who have diabetes who can't get insurance because of a preexisting condition; others who were laid off and the have no place to turn.

In 1940, President Roosevelt called on American industry to become the 'great arsenal of democracy.' Automotive manufacturers in Michigan responded and converted their assembly lines from cars to tanks and helped America win World War II.

My brother and late sister and I were raised in Detroit; it was where the middle class across racial lines, the middle class was able to develop, build a home, have for the first time retirement benefits, have a job, and yes, their kids began to go to college.

That's what healthcare reform is about: the middle class's economic security.

The When Women Succeed, America Succeeds economic agenda will enable women to achieve greater economic security, raise wages for women and their families, and better allow working parents to support and care for their families.

You have to separate what needs to be done to avoid the fiscal cliff and what needs to be done longer range. It's a mistake to essentially collapse those two - they're not the same. I don't think you can achieve everything at once.

Power, that's one thing, but love of family and of siblings is more important, is more powerful than any other power - at least earthly power, at least earthly power.

I was essentially trained by World War II vets who combined a progressive view of life with a deep distrust of anything authoritarian.

We need for America to get back to basics and focus on the middle class's quality of life. Healthcare reform is vital to restoring that standard of living.

Retirement security is often compared to a three-legged stool supported by Social Security, employer-provided pension funds, and private savings.

Through good times and bad, American workers and their families have been able to rely on Social Security to provide guaranteed protection against the loss of earnings due to retirement, disability, or death.