Washington, D.C. — Just a day after President-elect Donald Trump picked Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, Price proposed budget process changes that would enable automatic across-the-board cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. A new column today from the Center for American Progress outlines how Rep. Price’s proposal for long-term debt limits enforced by automatic cuts would harm low- and middle-income people.
“Rigging the budget process to slash Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid would be devastating for the working families that President-elect Trump claims to represent,” said Harry Stein, Director of Fiscal Policy at CAP. “Congress should publicly debate proposals to slash social benefits rather than use the arcane language of budget process to hide an unpopular agenda from voters.”
Rep. Price’s agenda offers a potential roadmap for how the Trump administration could play out and reason why Rep. Price jumped to the top of the president-elect’s list to lead HHS. If Congress enacts President-elect Trump’s proposed tax plan—which mostly benefits the wealthiest Americans—then Rep. Price’s automatic cuts would slash Social Security by $1.7 trillion and Medicare by $1.1 trillion over 10 years. Rep. Price’s automatic cuts provide a way for members of Congress to vote for both tax cuts and debt reduction and for President-elect Trump to sign both of these measures into law while falsely claiming to uphold his campaign pledge to protect Social Security and Medicare.
As CAP’s analysis notes, lives and livelihoods are at stake. Social Security keeps 22 million Americans out of poverty and provides retirement security, life insurance, and disability protection for nearly all American workers. Medicare and Medicaid provide health insurance to one-third of Americans.
Read the full column, “How Tom Price Can Help Donald Trump Cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid” by Harry Stein and Alex Rowell, online here.
For more information on this topic or to speak with an expert, contact Liz Bartolomeo at [email protected] or 202.481.8151.