On Oct 13th, the Social Security Administration announced that Social Security benefits will increase by 8.7% – putting more assistance directly into seniors’ pockets. This follows news that Medicare beneficiaries will see their Part B premiums decrease for the first time in more than a decade.
“President Biden and Florida Democrats are working hard to strengthen Social Security and Medicare,” said Florida Democratic Party Chair Manny Diaz. “That’s because Democrats know programs like Social Security are not entitlements, they are earned benefits that people have paid for out of their pockets their whole lives. Meanwhile, Florida Republicans are leading the charge to put these critical programs on the chopping block if they take the majority in Congress.”
While Democrats are working to protect and strengthen Social Security and Medicare, Republicans have a wildly unpopular plan to gut the programs — which is one of their “top priorities” if they take control of Congress.
- Bloomberg Government: “Social Security and Medicare eligibility changes, spending caps, and safety-net work requirements are among the top priorities for key House Republicans who want to use next year’s debt-limit deadline to extract concessions from Democrats.”
Florida GOP Senator Rick Scott — the man in charge of electing Republicans to the Senate — has already doubled and tripled down on his plan to put Medicare and Social Security on the chopping block.
- Washington Post Opinion: “Scott’s plan would also sunset — eliminate — all federal legislation over five years, under the (risky) assumption that worthy laws would be reenacted. That could mean an end to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, everything else mentioned above — and potentially more.”
And all of these extreme proposals fall in line with the Republican Study Committee’s “Blueprint to Save America” — which also called for gutting Americans’ EARNED Social Security benefits.
- NBC News: “The Republican Study Committee, a large group of House conservatives, proposed a budget in June that would incrementally raise the retirement age to collect Social Security… and lower benefits over the long term.”
Between the Republican Study Committee’s budget, Rick Scott’s proposal, and Republicans’ plan to use the debt ceiling to make cuts — one thing is clear: If Republicans take control, they are coming after Americans’ hard-earned Social Security benefits.
