(C) Common Dreams
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Social Security, Medicare should be 'off the table' in debt ceiling talks, McCarthy says [1]
['Lorie Konish']
Date: 2023-01-30
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., conducts a news conference in the U.S. Capitol's Statuary Hall on Thursday, January 12, 2023.
Social Security and Medicare should be "completely off the table" when it comes to debt ceiling negotiations, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said in a Sunday interview.
At the same time, the California Republican also called for "strengthening" those programs.
"If you read our Commitment to America, all we talk about is strengthening Medicare and Social Security," McCarthy told CBS's Face the Nation.
Republicans unveiled their Commitment to America plan last September, which calls for holding Washington accountable by addressing Social Security and Medicare, among other proposals. However, the plan does not provide more details on how those goals would be accomplished.
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Democrats and advocates for the programs worry the language is code for benefit cuts.
"Speaker McCarthy's slip — and his evasiveness after — is the latest giveaway that House Republicans have been telling the truth over the last year as they reiterate time and again that they want to cut Medicare and Social Security, vital lifelines for the middle class that Americans pay into throughout their lives," White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement.
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[1] Url:
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/30/social-security-medicare-off-table-in-debt-ceiling-talks-mccarthy.html
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