SPRINGFIELD — Surrounded by dozens of citizen supporters and elected officials on Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said the new year comes with a sharpened focus on three specific areas where she plans to help craft legislation.

Among them are boosting the nation's Social Security Program, helping make college more affordable while lowering student loan debt, and increasing the amount of medical research funding available to potentially further the level of life-saving breakthroughs developed on an average calendar year.

Warren said that although the talk surrounding the nation's Social Security program is usually negative, she thinks it is time to change the conversation and focus on ways to improve the already positive aspects.

"I'm tired of playing defense on Social Security. It's time to go on offense. Look, we have a Social Security system that works, but we've been starving that Social Security system," Warren said. "It's got enough money now but in about 20 years, it would run out of the surplus and benefits would drop by about 20 percent."

Warren said that by making investments in the system now, it could go a long way toward ensuring that several years down the road, Social Security payments would be substantial enough to account for the inevitably higher cost of living.

"Social Security needs adjustments to make sure it is going to be there to pay for ourselves, our children and our grandchildren. We have to remember that two out of every three Social Security recipients, counts on that to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads," Warren said. "But we have to remember that for 14 million Americans, Social Security is all that stands between them and poverty."

Warren also reiterated the second part of her reasoning on the issue, previously discussed at a breakfast organized by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.

"As a country, we know the problems we face- diabetes, Alzheimer's, autism. Our scientists have their toes on the edge of discoveries that can help us all. We need to make those investments so we are stronger, healthier people," Warren said. "We build a future for ourselves, people around this country and people around the world."

Warren has spent much of her adult life teaching at institutions including the University of Texas, the University of Pennsylvania Law School and most recently Harvard Law. She said 2014 also brings a renewed focus on the cost of a college education, and just how saddled-down students are getting from their college-related debt.

In late 2013, Warren joined fellow Senate Democrats Dick Durbin of Illinois and Jack Reed of Rhode Island in pushing several bills aiming to reform the student loan system.

The bills would make bankruptcy filings help provide relief from the burden of student loan debt, guarantee students receive more comprehensive information about what loans they qualify for and the terms of those loans, and the third bill gives colleges and universities an incentive to help with the problem of widespread student loan debt.

"What we're going to do is try to get schools to have some skin in the game so they have a real financial interest in keeping down the costs for our students. We've also got to fight to refinance outstanding student loan debt," Warren said. "It's $1.2 trillion that our kids owe now and we've got to bring that down for our young people. That means both refinancing debt that's out there to lower interest rates and finding better ways to forgive debt for students who are out doing public interest work and other work that benefits us all."

Warren, celebrating the one-year anniversary of her Western Massachusetts office on Wednesday, also reflected on her own first year in the Senate. When asked by a reporter to grade herself on her first-year performance, Warren said the score she'd get is "incomplete."

"Everything you read about Washington-it's worse. It's tough there, but there's good news too. I've learned while I've been there that there are a lot of tools in the toolbox, and if you're willing to be disciplined, willing to work hard, do your homework and willing to stay after it, you keep finding places where you can make some difference," she said.

Warren, who previously held the role of special advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, was passed over as head of the agency when Republican opposition mounted against her. She went on to defeat Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown in Nov. 2012 in the most expensive Senate race in the history of the state, becoming a star of the Democratic Party.

The senior senator from Massachusetts is constantly courted by progressives across the country to run for president in 2016, but she has said that serving in the Senate and focusing on fulfilling her campaign promise of ensuring a level playing field for all Americans through legislation are the only things on her agenda.

Much of Warren's push on issues relating to financial regulations gain her no new GOP friends, but she has still crossed the aisle several times since heading to the Senate to rally support for other bills.

In November, she introduced along with Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican who is a star in his own party, a bill to protect veterans from being scammed out of their benefits. She also worked with Sen. Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican, on a bill that would require further disclosures regarding the details of settlements companies accused of wrongdoing reach with the federal government.

When asked for an update on the Equal Employment for All Act she introduced in December, Warren said that she was still working on building support for the bill, but had yet to nab a GOP co-sponsor. That bill would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit employers from requiring job applicants to disclose their credit history.

"The good news is we're picking up co-sponsors on this bill. I'm hopeful we'll be able to move this in the Senate and if we do, I want to get it moved in the House," Warren said. "This is one of those things that is about basic fairness and giving people an opportunity to get back on their feet. The idea that once you've lost a job and your credit gets damaged, that you can't get a job and have a chance at a comeback- that's not America."

Warren also spent part of the day visiting with staff at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield and talking with students and faculty at UMass Amherst.