The two major candidates in the 2nd Congressional District were asked to respond to two questions posed by AARP New Hampshire.

QUESTION 1: About 48 million Americans - including about 170,000 in New Hampshire - help their loved ones each day to remain independent in their homes and communities. These family caregivers sacrifice time and money and provide $600 billion annually in unpaid support. How would you help family caregivers?

MAGGIE GOODLANDER: Right now, far too many Granite Staters are stuck in the "sandwich generation" -- left to straddle the overwhelming costs between caring for their children and caring for their aging parents. No one should have to take three or four jobs just to access proper care for their loved ones.

Yet for working families across the region, the lack of options and exorbitant costs have made accessing care out of reach. To account for New Hampshire's aging population, I'll work to increase the availability and affordability of elder care. To increase the availability of care, we need to expand the workforce through programs like loan forgiveness, job training programs, tuition assistance, and increased Medicaid/Medicare reimbursement rates.

I'll always work to make housing more affordable, so our care workforce can afford to live in New Hampshire. To address affordability, I support expanding Medicare to cover at home care. This will save families money by reducing out of pocket costs and allow seniors to stay in their homes longer avoiding expensive nursing homes and in-patient care.

I also will work to reduce the administrative hurdles that family caregivers face when navigating federal agencies to coordinate care. By bolstering and growing our care industry, we can save hard-working New Hampshire families money, allow uncompensated family caregivers to return to the workforce, and offer every family a fair shake at not just getting by, but getting ahead.

LILY TANG WILLIAMS: I admire family members who sacrifice so much to care for their families -- it is the ultimate show of love. I have listened to their concerns and issues on my campaign trail.

From a federal government perspective, financial support in the form of a tax credit and allowance for deductible expenses with similarities to being self-employed would help ease costs.

We need to make health care for their loved ones more affordable and accessible. We can reduce the regulations on telehealth providers across state lines, allowing patients to connect with specialists without having to travel long distances.

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QUESTION 2: The Social Security Trust Fund is expected to see a shortfall in 10 years. If Congress doesn't act, millions of Americans who are counting on Social Security will see cuts to the money they've earned. Do you see a path for Congress to work on a bipartisan solution to protect Social Security for those who have earned it?

WILLIAMS: Social Security is something our seniors have paid into their whole working lives. Seniors can count on me to fight for them and protect those earned benefits. We must strengthen the protections of these benefits by severely limiting federal government borrowing from the Social Security trust fund. Social Security is not a political slush fund; this is money the federal government should not play with.

We also need to grow our economy and create more jobs, which will provide more payroll taxes to the Social Security trust fund. We must secure our borders and stop allowing any illegal immigrants programs to burden Social Security.

GOODLANDER: I believe deeply that we must do everything we can to protect and strengthen Social Security and Medicare. These crucial programs were paid into by seniors after a lifetime of hard work, and allow them to retire with dignity they deserve.

I'm ready to go to bat against the longstanding crusade to cut Social Security and Medicare and rip away the security and peace of mind that seniors earned through hard work. I've spent my entire career bringing Democrats and Republicans together, and always intend to break through the partisan gridlock to get things done for the American people.

If elected to Congress, one of my top priorities will be finding a bipartisan path forward to ensure the solvency of these crucial programs without cutting funding or raising the retirement age. Currently, the wealthiest Americans pay the same as many middle-class families. I support lifting the cap that benefits the wealthiest few to ensure everyone is paying their fair share and the trust fund is solvent.