Washington, DC - Ways and Means Ranking Member Sander Levin (D-MI) today delivered the following statement on the House floor in opposition to H.R. 2560, a measure that doubles down on the Republican budget plan to end Medicare:
“In this bill, the Republicans are trying to repeal the second half of the 20th century. We have spent decades trying to knit a truly American fabric around a strengthened middle class. It’s a fabric that holds at its core retirement security, health care through Medicare and Medicaid, and educational opportunities for all through programs such as Pell Grants. For Republicans, the purpose of this measure is to appeal to their base. But in so doing they are debasing what we have built over the last half-century.
“It couldn’t come at a worse time for the country. Republicans say they are dedicated to the markets - but they are essentially now saying, ‘financial markets be damned.’ As one analyst put it yesterday: ‘The closer we get to this August deadline, the more anxious investors become.’ One anonymous Republican told Politico yesterday: ‘I'm embarrassed to be a Republican. These guys don't understand capital markets. This isn't about who wins an election. This is about whether people are going to be able to finance a house.’
“It was 46 years ago this month that President Johnson signed Medicare into law. Yet this measure doubles down on the Ryan budget proposal that itself would end Medicare. Retirees would see - at the very least - a 10 percent cut in their Social Security plan. Nursing home care, which makes up half of Medicaid expenditures, would be slashed. And that is not alone. The devastating cuts to endless programs such as grants for higher education, that have been vital in creating opportunity and building a strong American middle class. More than 14 million Americans remain jobless. Yet instead of using their new House majority to pursue a jobs agenda, it has come to this. Nearly seven months after they assumed the majority, instead of promoting growth, encouraging job creation and reinforcing the economic recovery, Republicans have been bringing about uncertainty. We must indeed confront the deficit. But not as the Republicans now propose - tearing apart what has helped create the fabric of the American middle class."
