Senate GOP Has No Plans to Revisit Medicare, Social Security: McConnell

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) speaks during a news conference following a closed-door lunch meeting with Senate Republicans at the Capitol in Washington, on Jan. 31, 2023. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Senate Republicans have no intention of making cuts or changes to Medicare or Social Security programs, according to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

McConnell made the declaration at a Feb. 14 press conference at the Capitol when asked whether Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) should disavow a plan he proposed last year that would require all federal programs—including Medicare and Social Security—to expire every five years, requiring reauthorization from Congress.

“This continues to come up,” McConnell said. “The president was talking about it in the State of the Union. … So, let me say it one more time. There is no agenda on the part of Senate Republicans to revisit Medicare or Social Security, period.”

In his State of the Union address on Feb. 7, Biden accused “some Republicans” of wanting to “sunset” Medicare and Social Security in an apparent reference to Scott’s plan.

President Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union address during a joint meeting of Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 7, 2023. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

That comment was met with loud boos and calls of “Liar!” from the Republican members in attendance.

McConnell has also sought to distance himself from the proposed plan, telling Terry Meiners on the Feb. 9 episode of his podcast that it was “not a Republican plan,” but Scott’s plan.

In his Tuesday remarks, the minority leader also noted that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), has assured that changes to Medicare and Social Security are “off the table” when it comes to his debt ceiling negotiations with the president.

McCarthy, criticizing the president’s State of the Union remarks last week, said: “The president was trying to goad the members. The members are passionate about [Social Security and Medicare]. But the one thing the president was saying is something that he knew was not true. I just spent an hour with him, I’ve said it many times before: Social Security and Medicare are off the table.”

Protect Our Seniors Act

Following the president’s speech, Scott put forth a new plan, dubbed the Protect Our Seniors Act, which would rescind funding from the Inflation Reduction Act that was allocated for 87,000 new IRS agents and channel it toward Medicare and Social Security Administration Trust Funds.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) talks to reporters after meeting with Senate Republicans at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Nov. 15, 2022. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The bill would also require a two-thirds vote of Congress to approve any cuts or reductions to Medicare or Social Security benefits, and it would prevent any savings produced from changes to the programs from being redirected elsewhere.

“While Democrats howl and lie about made-up threats to Social Security and Medicare, the reality is they haven’t done one thing to protect them,” Scott said in a Feb. 10 statement. “In fact, Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress have done more to hurt Social Security and Medicare than anyone I can think of.”

House Republicans have also introduced legislation to guarantee Social Security and Medicare payments will continue regardless of whether the U.S. debt limit is reached.

In January, the U.S. approached its borrowing limit of $31.4 trillion but was forestalled by the Treasury Department through June 5. If the limit is reached, the government will be unable to borrow funds to meet its financial obligations.

Despite this, McConnell was confident Tuesday that the matter would be resolved through negotiations, assuring, “America’s never going to default.”