FACT SHEET: 80% of House Republicans Release Plan Targeting Medicare, Social Security, and the Affordable Care Act, Raising Costs, and Cutting Taxes for the Wealthy

In his State of the Union Less than two weeks ago, President Biden laid out his vision for an economy that gives the middle class a fair shot. He also warned that congressional Republicans “will cut Social Security and give more tax cuts to the wealthy,” that they continue to oppose the Affordable Care Act, and that they are siding with Big Pharma over hardworking families.     

On Wednesday, the Republican Study Committee – which represents 100% of House Republican leadership and nearly 80% of their members – just proposed yet another budget that would cut Medicare, Social Security, and the Affordable Care Act , as well as increase prescription drug, energy, and housing costs – all while forcing tax giveaways for the very rich onto the country. Their plan would even raise the Social Security retirement age.

Like President Biden promised in the Capitol, “If anyone here tries to cut Social Security or Medicare or raise the retirement age I will stop them.”

He’s keeping that promise by standing against this new House Republican budget. He knows the last thing we should do is raid Medicare and Social Security while giving more giant tax cuts to the wealthy and big corporations.

What’s more, House Republicans’ plan would raise energy costs and send our new manufacturing jobs back overseas by gutting other crucial elements of the Inflation Reduction Act, raise housing costs, and allow big companies to rip off consumers with junk fees.  

President Biden has a different vison for how we move into the future: make the wealthy, big corporations, and special interests pay their fair share while protecting and strengthening Medicare and Social Security. Extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits he delivered to lower health care costs and cover more Americans than any time in history. Making the economy work for the middle class by investing in America and the industries of the future, while lowering key costs that working families face. And expanding Medicare’s ability to negotiate lower drug costs.

80% of House Republicans released a Budget that:

Cuts Medicare and Social Security while putting health care at risk for millions

1. Calls for over $1.5 trillion in cuts to Social Security, including an increase in the retirement age to 69 and cutting disability benefits.
2. Raises Medicare costs for seniors by taking away Medicare’s authority to negotiate prescription drug costs, repealing $35 insulin, and the $2,000 out-of-pocket cap in the Inflation Reduction Act
3. Transitions Medicare to a premium support system that CBO has found would raise premiums for many seniors.
4. Cuts Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program by $4.5 trillion over ten years, taking coverage away from millions of people, eroding care for seniors, children, and people with disabilities, and taking us back to the days where people could be denied care for pre-existing conditions and charged more for health insurance simply for being a woman.   

Rigs the economy for the wealthy and large corporations against middle class families

5. Passes $5.5 trillion in tax cuts skewed to the wealthy and large corporations, including permanently extending tax cuts in the Trump tax law, repealing the minimum tax on billion-dollar corporations the President signed into law, eliminating the estate tax for the wealthiest Americans, providing a massive tax cut for billionaire investors, and making it easier for the wealthy and large corporations to get away with cheating on their taxes.
6. Kills jobs and investment in communities throughout the country – including Red States – by eliminating the clean energy tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act.
7. Makes it easier for companies and banks to rip consumers off with unfair and hidden junk fees by eliminating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
8. Raises housing costs by cutting funding for rental assistance, cutting funding for programs that help build housing, and raising mortgage costs for first-time homebuyers.

###