Progressives Won’t Criticize Obama For Proposed Social Security Cuts
WASHINGTON — Progressive Democrats called on Thursday for the president to keep Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid out of a final debt limit deal, but defended him for putting a restructuring of those programs on the table, so long as doing so did not impact beneficiaries.
Ahead of a meeting with House and Senate leadership, in which President Barack Obama is expected to voice willingness to change entitlement programs, a dozen members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus wrote a letter to the president asking him to refuse cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. The president is set to discuss a deal to raise the debt ceiling in exchange for deficit reduction, which could include major cuts to programs that help the elderly and the poor.
“We feel the discussions have been skewed up to this point,” said Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), co-chair of the caucus, who also said he would not support a final deal if it involves entitlement cuts and does not include revenue-raisers. “It’s incumbent upon the president to put what I believe are the real priorities on the table for deficit reduction.”
