Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media

By Justin Duckham-Talk Radio News Service

A number of Senate Democrats Wednesday voiced their support for an amendment proposed by Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Co.) aimed at protecting guaranteed medicare benefits and touted the addition to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as further evidence against Republican claims that the legislation will ravage the Medicare system.

“[Bennet’s] proposal makes it absolutely clear that the savings that this bill achieves through greater efficiency in Medicare are used for the benefit of the seniors that medicare serves,” said Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) during an afternoon press conference. “That’s the issue here and no amount of scare tactics can disguise it.”

The proposal comes shortly after Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) introduced an amendment that would block more than $400 billion in cuts to Medicare intended to help cover the costs of health care reform.

Harkin expressed skepticism that Republican support for Medicare has been genuine and outlined the minority party’s history of opposition to the insurance program.

“It was the Republican party that tried to stop Medicaid from ever being enacted. It was a Republican Speaker of the House who expressed his deepest wish that Medicare should ‘wither on the vine,’” said Harkin. “Year after year our Republican colleagues have proposed deep cuts to the benefits to our seniors.”