House Dems Tell GOP "Hands Off Our Medicare"

By Anna Cameron

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and fellow Democrats spoke out against deep Medicare cuts contained in the Ryan budget prior to the House’s vote on the GOP plan.

“[This] is not an issue,” said Pelosi. “It is a value, it is an ethic, for our country to keep our bedrock promise to our seniors, to keep our promise of Medicare.

The GOP budget blueprint, spearheaded by House Budget Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.), proposes $6.2 trillion in cuts over the next ten years by reforming Medicare and Medicaid, while also freezing discretionary spending and altering the tax code.

“There is a time to draw a line in the sand and fight. I am proud of the President of the United States for drawing that line,” said House Democratic Caucus Chair John Larson (D-Conn.) “[I] call upon everyone across this nation, and especially our seniors, to rise to the pulpit … and take this ballot forward. We will take their hands off of Medicare.

Democrats claim that the Medicare reforms under the Ryan budget would “end Medicare as we know it” by providing vouchers to senior citizens that would force them into the private insurance market.

“Republicans are pushing the same agenda they’ve always had - ending the safety nets that are so important to our citizens,” said Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.). “The Republican budget does just that. It ends Medicare and results in a huge cost shift.”

As votes continue on the House floor, Democrats played parliamentary politics with Republicans by voting “present” on a vote over a more conservative budget in an attempt to force them into supporting a less popular plan.

In addition, proposals from both the Congressional Black Caucus and the Progressive Caucus were voted down in the House, as neither initiative succeeded in garnering Republican support.