A group of House Democrats recently introduced legislation that seeks to raise the vote threshold to two-thirds in both the House and Senate for any legislation reducing Medicare and Social Security benefits.
The bill, the Protect Social Security and Medicare Act, was introduced by U.S. Reps. Mark Pocan (D-WI), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), and Maxwell Frost (D-FL).
“Medicare and Social Security are overwhelmingly popular for good reason – they provide critically important benefits to seniors and other vulnerable Americans. We all pay into both of these programs and are counting on them for essential healthcare and a dignified retirement,” Pocan said. “The Protect Social Security and Medicare Act will ensure that these benefits are protected from changes that lack widespread support.”
In a recent poll by the Economist/YouGov, 70 percent of Americans oppose the cuts to those programs.
“This legislation would ensure that Republicans are not permitted to fulfill Newt Gingrich’s desire of letting Social Security and Medicare ‘wither on the vine,’ Doggett said. “With the ongoing Republican attempt to use the debt limit to extract cuts, this bill offers added protection for fulfilling our promise that every American worker can retire with dignity and security.”
The legislation is endorsed by Social Security Works, among others.
“For millions of seniors and working people across Florida, Social Security and Medicare are a lifeline that means the difference between having the financial support and healthcare you need to live or going without,” Frost said. “After decades of bipartisan support for these critical programs, Republicans want to put them on the chopping block to pay for their tax cuts to the rich – but we won’t let them. I refuse to turn my back on the seniors, disabled Floridians, and working families who depend on these programs and will fight to ensure cuts to Medicare and Social Security never see the light of day.”