WASHINGTON — Assemblywoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) shouted “liar” when Republicans slammed President Joe Biden Tuesday night when he said he wanted to cut popular retirement benefits.
“Instead of making the rich pay their fair share, some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to disappear every five years,” Biden said during his State of the Union address, referring to a proposal by to Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla. ).
Republicans loudly shouted “no” from the right side of the House floor.
For months, Democrats in Congress and the White House have criticized Republicans for their suggestions that they would try to change popular retirement benefits to improve the programs’ long-term actuarial balance.
“These benefits belong to the American people. They earned it,” Biden said in his speech. “If anyone tries to cut Social Security, I’m going to stop them. And if anyone tries to opt out of Medicare, I will stop them.
Scott’s proposal has never been popular with Republicans, but several lawmakers have indeed suggested in recent months that Congress should address increased “entitlement” spending.
In recent weeks, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has begun saying that Republicans “won’t touch” Social Security or Medicare as part of their upcoming budget proposals. He also said the plans should be “out of the question” in negotiations with the president.
Since winning control of the House in the 2022 midterm elections, Republicans have vowed to cut federal spending and withhold support for a needed increase in the federal government’s borrowing limit unless Democrats cut spending.
Without an increase in the borrowing limit, the government could default on its bonds and even the beneficiaries of federal programs, potentially triggering a financial crisis and major job losses.
Biden has said he won’t negotiate on the debt ceiling, but he last invited McCarthy to the White House for a conversation about federal spending.
The president said Tuesday that he will release a tax plan next month that will reduce the federal budget deficit by $2 trillion without touching Social Security or Medicare.
“I’m not going to raise taxes on anyone who makes less than $400,000 a year,” Biden said. “And I’m going to pay for the ideas we’ve talked about tonight by getting rich, big companies to start paying their fair share.”
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