Every Thursday, Littleton seniors gather at Buck Recreation Center for a $5 lunch, some social life, and a bit of helpful information. Last Thursday was no different when Hank Eng, Congressional Candidate for District 6, spent more time visiting one-on-one before and after lunch than he spent speaking at the microphone. Eng knows how important it is to listen to individual voters, to hear their concerns and answer their questions. And the seniors would rather spend their time talking while enjoying live piano music than hear a stump speech.

However, Hank's presentation did get the attention of the 85 interested seniors, especially when he answered a question from one about the Cold War vs. the War on Terror. They applauded when he said that the new war would be won not by military force, but by cooperation with other countries, working with their police and infiltrating terrorist organizations. "The difference," Eng said, "is the ideology we are up against is no longer in one country like the USSR during the Cold War."

Hank should know. He was actually in Red Square when "the red sickle came down" and witnessed Russians dancing in the streets. "As a nation," Eng said, "we won the Cold War, but we didn't need to hit the big red button to do it." He noted that he also lived and worked in Africa, Pakistan, and China, so he has an understanding of how other people think and how much we have in common with them. Another topic was the current economic crisis that Eng says could become a depression. The crowd of seniors nodded their heads in remembrance.

Asked about the most important issues for seniors today, Hank said, "Certainly healthcare and Social Security. Imagine what would have happened had Bush had his way with privatizing Social Security with the fall of the stock market." To keep Social Security the safety net it was always meant to be, Eng continued, we need to raise the cutoff salary amount that gets taxed, which is part of Obama's plan. People who make $100,000 or more won't really miss the little savings they get, just as those who earn over 1/4 million won't miss the extra taxes that will help fund healthcare for everyone.

Hank went on to explain that although seniors have Medicare, their access to doctors who accept Medicare is the issue. There are only 5000 geriatric primary care physicians in the United States for good reason: there has been a systematic reduction in the percentage reimbursed to those doctors who still accept Medicare. For the simple reason of finances, many practices can no longer afford to accept new Medicare patients and many new practices decline to accept any at all. The cost of medical school leaves doctors in such debt that they listen to the AMA steering them into specialties where the money is better.

We need to help doctors with their education, Hank said, even forgiving their loans should they go into community service, which is also part of Obama's plan. "What better way to lift up people - those who want to serve as well as those who need services. That's really what America's about - people looking around for something to do to help. That's the kind of society we have always been." Indeed, when one senior asked Eng why he's running for Congress, he said, "I had to run. I don't like the government we've had under the current administration."

To learn more about Hank Eng, candidate for CD 6, please visit http://hankeng.com.