On Tuesday, June 2, 2015, Trent Kelly won a special election runoff to represent the First District of Mississippi in the 114th Congress.
Trent lives in Saltillo with his wife of 31 years, Sheila, and their three children John Forrest, Morgan, and Jackson. They are members of Saltillo First United Methodist Church.
Trent was born on March 1, 1966, in Union, Mississippi to parents John and Barbara Kelly. He graduated from Union High School and East Central Community College. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Mississippi and law degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law. In 2010, he received his master’s degree in Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Protecting Social Security and Medicare for current beneficiaries and saving it for future generations is one of my most important responsibilities as a Member of Congress. It is no secret that demographic and economic factors will not allow us to continue the program unaltered. There are 10,000 baby boomers retiring every day, and when these programs were first enacted there were more than 40 workers for every 1 retiree. Today, that number is below 3 workers per retiree and headed towards 2 to 1. Healthcare costs continue to rise much faster than inflation. In order to ensure the solvency of a program that senior citizens have come to rely on, changes must be made. Social Security cannot continue on the path it is currently on, and politicians who claim they want to preserve the program without offering reforms are not being honest. The days of doing nothing, burying our heads in the sand, and pretending the status quo is sustainable are over. We must ensure that Social Security will be here for the next generation, and I will continue to fight for the future of this vital program.