House Oversight Committee chairman Rep. James Comer (R-Kentucky) says cuts to Social Security and Medicare are “off the table,” according to a tweet by ABC News’ “This Week” quoting a portion of an interview of Rep. Comer by host George Stephanopoulos.
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer says House GOP will be coming forward with a plan for the debt ceiling that excludes cuts to Social Security and Medicare.
"Those programs are going to be off the table…but everything else is on the table." https://t.co/s5XgPCE3k0 pic.twitter.com/ZNrPhhvgGg
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) February 12, 2023
“We’re not going to cut Social Security or Medicare,” Rep. Comer said in the exchange on ABC. “We’ve been very clear about that. It’s very disappointing that the president and Chuck Schumer would continue to try to scare seniors. These are important programs to everyone. There’s bipartisan support for Social Security and Medicare. If anything, we need to shore those programs up. They’re running out of money. But at the end of the day, those programs are going to be off the table with respect to cuts.”
This follows House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) declaring that “cuts to Medicare and Social Security are off the table.”
Cuts to Medicare and Social Security are off the table.
Defaulting on our debt is not an option.
But neither is a future of higher taxes, higher interest rates, and an economy that doesn’t work for working Americans. pic.twitter.com/KhLEEhaNNx
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) February 6, 2023
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President Joe Biden declared in his State of the Union address, “Other Republicans say if we don’t cut Social Security and Medicare, they’ll let America default on its debt for the first time in our history.”
The twin statements by Speaker McCarthy and chairman Comer should effectively dispel the unfounded notion (or “scare” rhetoric) that Republicans are considering cuts to Social Security and Medicare as part of negotiations to increase the debt ceiling. On the contrary, it sounds as if there will be work to protect those programs.
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