House Republicans propose higher Social Security retirement age and Medicare privatization

A group of 175 House Republicans unveiled a 2024 budget plan on Wednesday that would significantly undermine safety net programs, repeal most of President Joe Biden’s climate and health care investments, and spend more taxpayer dollars on former President Donald Trump’s failed border wall project.

The Republican Study Committee, which calls itself “the conservative caucus of House Republicans,” is proposing $16.3 trillion in spending cuts and $5.1 trillion in tax cuts over a decade in its fiscal year 2024 budget proposal. Chair Kevin Hern said in a press release: “Our conservative values are on display on every page. Our budget proves that fiscal responsibility is the only way to lower inflation, grow the economy, cut federal spending, empower taxpayers, and protect small businesses.”

In February, after Biden warned in his State of the Union address that many congressional Republicans wanted to sunset or make dramatic changes to Social Security and Medicare, GOP lawmakers claimed they had no such agenda and accused him of lying.

“The media needs to quit fear mongering. This week, I asked several members of the liberal corporate media a simple question: Name ONE of my Republican colleagues who want to take away Medicare and Social Security to those who spent a LIFETIME earning it. Crickets,” Hern (R-OK) tweeted on Feb. 6.

But much of the savings in the Republican Study Committee budget would come from major changes and cuts to Medicare and Social Security.

In a section called “Saving Medicare,” the plan’s authors claim they will preserve the program for “current retirees” and create “a premium support model where private plans would compete with a federal Medicare plan (the ‘Fed Plan’) that would offer the traditional Medicare benefits received through Parts A, B, and D. Under this plan, Medicare’s trust funds would be merged into a singular fund that would be responsible for paying premium support subsidies to cover the vast majority of their premium costs.” This would siphon Medicare funds to private insurance companies.

In a part called “Preventing Biden’s Cuts to Social Security,” they suggest “modest changes” to the benefits for those who are not yet near retirement and “make modest adjustments to the retirement age for future retirees to account for increases in life expectancy,” while reducing benefits for future retirees who earned a higher salary before retirement.

The Republicans’ proposed budget also includes provisions that would require the Biden administration to “complete wall construction projects proposed by President Trump.” Trump made the construction of a wall along the nation’s entire southern border a centerpiece of his 2016 campaign and vowed that he would make Mexico pay for the project. He broke both promises, completing only about five miles of new wall construction and diverting billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars meant for military families and construction to pay for it.

Additionally, the proposed budget would repeal the health insurance subsidies, lower prescription drug costs, clean energy and climate change infrastructure investments, and funding structure passed last year in Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. The authors dismissed these investments as “green giveaways,” “price controls,” and “funding liberal special interests.”

Democratic officials strongly oppose the plan.

“The hardcore MAGA budget just released by the Republican Study Committee – which represents a majority of House Republicans – amounts to a devastating attack on Medicare, Social Security, and Americans’ access to health coverage and prescription drugs,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement on Wednesday, adding:

The Republican Study Committee is taking aim at the Medicare benefits all Americans pay to earn by repealing the new power President Biden gave it to negotiate lower drug costs, to address rapid drug price increases, and to cap the price of insulin for Medicare beneficiaries.

They are also raising the retirement age for Social Security.

This is exactly what Republicans in Congress pledged not to do just months ago at the President’s State of the Union address.

Pennsylvania Rep. Brendan Boyle, the top Democratic member of the House Budget Committee, said, “Republicans are attempting to renege on our sacred promise to American workers and seniors by renewing their attacks on Social Security and Medicare.”

“Budget Committee Democrats will make sure every American family knows that House Republicans want to force Americans to work longer for less, raise families’ costs, weaken our nation, and shrink our economy — all while wasting billions of dollars on more favors to special interests and handouts to the ultra-wealthy,” Boyle added.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.