Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DNY) has made it clear that Democrats will not accept cuts to Medicaid, the government health insurance program for low-income Americans, amid a standoff with Republicans over the national debt limit.
“This is a popular program and we’re going to defend it. We don’t think the Medicaid cuts, like the cuts to Medicare and Social Security, should be associated with the brinksmanship of the debt ceiling,” Schumer told HuffPost at a press conference Wednesday on Capitol Hill.
Medicaid, which currently has more than 80 million enrollees, has not been in the spotlight lately like other critical safety net programs like Social Security and Medicare.
Republican leaders have promised that Social Security and Medicare benefits for current recipients are not on the table for cuts as they are tied to negotiations on increasing the debt limit this year, but have not made the same explicit commitment to Medicaid benefits.
Medicaid spending has been a top GOP target for years as the party seeks to tackle the nation’s deficit and debt. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) tried to extract Medicaid cuts from President Bill Clinton, leading to the shutdown of the federal government in 1995 and 1996. Former Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) also targeted Medicaid spending in the budget proposal. a decade ago.
Medicaid spending increased significantly after the Affordable Care Act of 2010, which allowed states to expand the program to everyone in households with incomes below or just above the poverty line.
Republican lawmakers were careful not to spell out specific programs they want to cut this year, speaking only in general about the need to keep the state’s fiscal house.
“I just don’t think it’s really productive in the debt ceiling talks to determine what are sacred cows and what should be on the special chopping block,” Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) told HuffPost when asked about Medicaid. “It’s a very difficult conversation to say that certain aspects of our problem are off the table. If we do, we’re only diminishing our own ability to come up with creative solutions.”
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office on Wednesday released projections that said the federal government would be unable to meet its obligations starting in July and September. Congress must raise the debt limit earlier or risk an unprecedented default that could shock financial markets and damage the economy.
Biden and congressional Democrats remain steadfast in their position that the debt limit, which Republicans have easily raised three times under President Donald Trump, should not be held hostage. If Republicans want to negotiate spending, Democrats added, they should do so separately during the regular congressional budget process.
But Republicans, led by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), continue to call on Biden to negotiate on spending cuts and the debt limit. He has yet to publish a plan for the spending limits he wants and the clock is ticking.
“Soon the MAGA brigade will see that the Speaker is making a lot of promises that he won’t be able to keep. And I’m worried that the danger of entering a default will only increase as the toxic dynamics in the House GOP grow stronger every day,” Schumer said on Wednesday.