Staff Reports
In his State of the Union address, President Joe Biden has been using Social Security and Medicare as a political tools against Republicans. He has accused the Republicans in the House and Senate of having intentions to make changes to these programs. However, a fact-check by Townhall has revealed that Biden’s claim about the Republicans planning to sunset Social Security is unfounded.
"When I argued that we should freeze federal spending, I meant Social Security as well; I meant Medicare and Medicaid; I meant veterans' benefits; I meant every single, solitary thing in the government." — Joe Biden defending the proposed balanced budget amendment, January 1995 pic.twitter.com/5WQ1imljgg
— Walker Bragman (@WalkerBragman) May 3, 2019
President Joe Biden’s current actions are comparable to his past behavior, which he is now attempting to attribute to Republicans. In 1995, while serving as a Senator, Biden advocated for a “freeze” on federal outlays, including Social Security and Medicare, and various other budget items as part of an effort to phase out all federal programs. Biden specified that this included Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, veterans’ benefits, and every other aspect of the government. This exceeds the number of attempts made by congressional Republicans to achieve similar objectives since Biden assumed office by four times.
During his time in the Senate, President Joe Biden persisted in advocating for reductions to entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare. He supported tax cuts proposed by Reagan and partnered with Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) to promote a halt on all federal expenditures, including those allocated for Social Security. When he ran for President in the 2008 cycle, Biden once again expressed his willingness to consider making modifications to Social Security and Medicare, such as cost of living adjustments, in order to tackle the federal deficit.
President Biden has also shown his willingness to make changes to Social Security, such as cuts, means testing, or raising the minimum age, as part of a proposed “grand bargain” with congressional Republicans. Although the bargain eventually collapsed, Biden remains on the record as being open to the notion of reforming, cutting, or adjusting – whatever the term may be – a program that he now asserts is inviolable.
It appears that Joe Biden has a history of attempting to cut Social Security and Medicare more than congressional Republicans have done since he took office. His current stance of using these programs as a political weapon against Republicans is hypocritical and misleading.
The preceding article is a summary of an article that originally appeared on Townhall
