Clarification on GOP Soc Sec, Medicare plans

      Set-Aside Alert’s May 26 edition story on the possible US debt default needed more context in describing House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s and the GOP’s positions on Social Security and Medicare spending cuts.

      In October 2022, McCarthy said if the GOP won the House he would negotiate spending cuts as part of a bill to lift the debt ceiling, and he did not exclude Medicare and Social Security from those proposed reductions.

      A number of other Republicans, including Sen. Rick Scott, R-FL; Sen. Ron Johnson, R-WI, and GOP members of the House Budget Committee, explicitly called for significant cuts to Social Security and Medicare as part of the debt ceiling bill.

      However, McCarthy in January 2023 said Social Security and Medicare would be off the table in the debt ceiling negotiations.

      Reductions to Social Security and Medicare were not included in the final bill to increase the debt limit.

More information:
05-26-23 Issue: Click to view