Medicare debates in Congress should result in better Medicare benefits for all our nation's seniors. We're not asking for special treatment for rural America, just a fair deal.

History suggests that attempts to privatize Medicare by relying on private companies to offer Medicare benefits in rural America simply will not work.

Rather than squander the surplus on tax breaks for the rich, we should add a prescription drug benefit to the Medicare program, shore up Social Security, fortify our defense, provide a quality public education and offer economic assistance to rural areas.

This year, Republicans in Congress cut first-responder homeland security programs by $604 million, and an additional cut of $1.1 billion was requested by the president for fiscal year 2006,

Medicare provided guaranteed equal coverage, something that the private sector could not.

Sending our young men and women into battle is perhaps the most serious course of action a Nation can undertake.