Today, Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) and other members of the House Democratic Caucus Seniors Task Force, chaired by Congresswomen Doris Matsui (D-CA) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), sent a letter to President Obama asking that he protect Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security as he continues to work on a deal to raise the debt ceiling. The Task Force stressed that cuts to benefits in these programs would have a profoundly negative impact on the lives, and health, of older Americans.
Congresswoman Matsui stated, “Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security are vitally important programs in our country, especially for our nation’s seniors – they should in no way be used as a playing card in the political game that is the debt deal. While we are ready and willing to work to improve these programs and shore up their solvency, a cut to benefits is simply out of the question.”
“It’s a non-starter to cut programs that serve middle-income and low-income seniors in order to continue to give the wealthiest Americans additional tax breaks,” said Congresswoman Schakowsky. “Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid are critical for millions of Americans and their families. They ask us to hold firm and not cut their benefits. We ought to get our fiscal house in order, but not on the backs of those who have the least to do with causing the deficit.”
