Senator Patty Murray's office issued the following today:
Senators respond to Trump’s comments at Davos that he would consider cutting Medicare & Social Security
Budget deficit grows to $1 trillion as a result of GOP tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Patty
Murray (D-WA), the top Democrat on the Senate health and pensions
committee, and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) joined Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
and 35 of their Democratic colleagues in sending a letter demanding
that President Trump retract statements he made last week threatening to
cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
In an interview last week from Davos,
Switzerland, President Trump indicated his openness to cutting these
vital programs to offset the growing budget deficit fueled by
Republicans’ 2017 tax reform legislation. At the time of its passage,
the Congressional Budget Office estimated the legislation would add $1.9
trillion to the federal debt over a ten year period – the Department of
Treasury recently reported that the federal deficit surpassed $1
trillion in 2019.
“We are alarmed by comments you made last
week while in Davos, Switzerland, that suggest you plan to cut vital
entitlement programs. Asked if such cuts would be on your agenda, you
responded: ‘At some point they will be […] toward the end of the year,’
and that cutting such critical programs like Social Security, Medicare,
and Medicaid would be ‘the easiest of all things.’ We urge you to
retract these statements and publicly commit to protecting Social
Security, Medicare, and Medicaid for the remainder of your presidency,” the senators wrote.
“Attempting to make up the trillion-dollar
deficit created by your tax law on the backs of hard-working Americans
would be a betrayal to all who consider these programs a lifeline.
American workers who for decades have paid into Social Security and
Medicare should not be forced to relinquish their health and retirement
security to pay for your tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and
largest corporations.”
As the top Democrat on the Senate health and
pensions committee, Senator Murray has been a staunch advocate for
Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid and has worked tirelessly to
strengthen the three programs. In 2018, Senator Murray introduced the Stronger Safety Net (SSN) Act, a set of common sense proposals to modernize, enhance, and protect Social Security. Additionally, Senator Murray has led the fight
against the Trump administration’s efforts to weaken essential health
benefits, shorten the open enrollment period, and cut outreach budgets
for Medicaid and Medicare, making it harder for patients and families to
access quality, affordable health care.
Senator Cantwell has been a leading
defender of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid in the Senate,
sounding the alarm over the effects that cuts to these essential
programs would have on Washingtonians. In 2017 she offered a measure
to protect Medicare from Republican attacks and traveled across
Washington state to hear directly from Medicaid patients, health care
providers, veterans, and advocates who rely on Medicaid for coverage.
She has also spoken repeatedly on the Senate floor urging her colleagues
to vote against senseless entitlement cuts. This year, Cantwell
introduced legislation
that would empower Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices for seniors
and allow Americans to import safe, low-cost prescription drugs from
Canada.
In addition to Senators Murray, Cantwell and
Brown, U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Michael Bennet (D-CO),
Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Bob
Casey (D-PA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy
Duckworth (D-IL), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA),
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH),
Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Amy
Klobuchar (D-MN), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Edward Markey (D-MA), Bob
Menendez (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed
(D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Chuck Schumer (D-NY),
Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tina Smith (D-MN), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Tom
Udall (D-NM), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sheldon
Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) also signed the letter to the
president.
A copy of the letter can be found HERE and below:
January 28, 2020
Dear President Trump,
We are alarmed by comments you made this week
while in Davos, Switzerland, that suggest you plan to cut vital
entitlement programs. Asked if such cuts would be on your agenda, you
responded: “At some point they will be […] toward the end of the year,”
and that cutting such critical programs like Social Security, Medicare,
and Medicaid would be “the easiest of all things.” We urge you to
retract these statements and publicly commit to protecting Social
Security, Medicare, and Medicaid for the remainder of your Presidency.
Social Security and Medicare are vital programs
that millions of Americans earned and rely on. Medicare provides quality
health insurance for 44 million older Americans and people with
disabilities. Social Security provides critical income for 64 million
Americans. Cutting these programs would be a direct attack on working
Americans, and would violate the repeated promises you made not to cut
Social Security or Medicare as a presidential candidate.
In 2017, you signed into law the Tax Cuts and
Jobs Act (TCJA), legislation passed by a Republican-controlled Congress
that lavished the wealthy and corporations with significant tax cuts.
Not only did these tax cuts go overwhelmingly to the wealthy – further
fueling economic inequality– they also exploded our nation’s deficit.
The tax cuts appear to be adding even more to the deficit than the
Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected soon after TCJA’s enactment –
due largely to dramatic reductions in corporate tax revenue.
Your tax law is fueling the budget deficit used
by you and members of your administration to justify deep cuts to Social
Security and Medicare. Following its passage, CBO estimated your tax
law would add $1.9 trillion to the deficit over the 2018-27 period.
Indeed, the Department of Treasury recently reported that the federal
deficit surpassed $1 trillion in 2019. We will not allow the higher
deficits brought about by your tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations
to be used as a cynical justification to fulfill the long-held
Republican endeavor to destroy Social Security and Medicare.
As a presidential candidate, you promised the
American people that you would not cut Social Security, Medicare, or
Medicaid. In fact, you criticized your political opponents for failing
to make the same promise. Not only have you broken that promise, you
have waged an all-out assault on Medicaid. Attempting to make up the
trillion dollar deficit created by your tax law on the backs of
hard-working Americans would be a betrayal to all who consider these
programs a lifeline. American workers who for decades have paid into
Social Security and Medicare should not be forced to relinquish their
health and retirement security to pay for your tax cuts for the
wealthiest Americans and largest corporations.
We urge you to immediately clarify your plans
for these programs, direct your administration officials to refrain from
cutting or otherwise attacking Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid,
and publicly commit to the American people that you will not cut these
earned benefits for the remainder of your Presidency. The American
people who have paid for and rely on these programs deserve nothing
less.
Sincerely,
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