(C) Common Dreams
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Rick Scott Drops Social Security From Plan as G.O.P. Retreats From Entitlement Cuts [1]
['Carl Hulse']
Date: 2023-02-17
WASHINGTON — Senator Rick Scott of Florida finally recognized this week what leading figures in his party had been telling him for a year: Most Republicans no longer wish to discuss cutting Social Security and Medicare as a way to balance the federal budget and bring down the soaring debt.
After decades of talk of scaling back the popular — and increasingly expensive — federal entitlement programs for older Americans, Republicans have for now abandoned that approach. It is an acknowledgment of the political risks of shrinking benefits relied on by millions of voters.
The capitulation by Mr. Scott, who on Friday relented and explicitly walled off Social Security and Medicare from his proposal to terminate all federal programs every five years and subject them to congressional review, was the latest evidence that Republicans would be looking elsewhere for savings in a coming showdown with the White House and congressional Democrats.
The hardening position of the party will significantly affect the dynamic around seeking spending cuts in exchange for raising the federal debt limit later this year by focusing much of the scrutiny instead on domestic spending, foreign aid and other safety-net programs such as Medicaid and food stamps.
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[1] Url:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/17/us/politics/rick-scott-social-security.html
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