Biden to promote health care programs in Virginia speech

President Joe Biden will travel to Virginia Beach Tuesday where he will tout his efforts to protect healthcare and continue to warn voters that Republicans are planning deep cuts to social programs like Medicare and the Affordable Care Act.

The president's visit comes as U.S. lawmakers are debating the federal budget to avoid a potential default on the national debt while tension was also building with Congress over Biden's strategy to raise the debt ceiling.

Republican solutions to the budget and national debt put the nation at risk for an "economic catastrophe," White House officials said during a briefing last week to set up Biden's proposed budget, which he plans to deliver to Congress on March 9.

"Unfortunately, congressional Republicans to date haven't put forward their own budget plan," said White House Deputy Communications Director Kate Berner. "They claim cutting the deficit is a top priority, but their floated proposals -- based again on what we know so far -- explode the deficit and increase it by more than $3 trillion."

Earlier this month, the House Budget Committee proposed several cuts that would eliminate "wasteful, inefficient and unnecessary federal spending," including a cap on ACA subsidies that were extended under Biden's policies, however, none of the motions so far have included any slashes to Medicare.

But ahead of Biden's trip to Virginia, the White House continued doubling down on Biden's message, saying Congressional Republicans would seek to balance the budget by putting critical health care subsidies "on the chopping block."

"Virtually every Republican budget or fiscal plan over the last decade has included repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and deep cuts to Medicaid," the White House said in the statement, claiming GOP cuts would result in millions of Americans losing health coverage, higher health care costs, and the loss of critical protections for people with pre-existing conditions.

Biden has also gone on the offensive in recent weeks, repeatedly accusing the GOP of wanting to cut Social Security and Medicare -- making it a key campaign issue following a rousing State of the Union address in which the president accused Republicans of wanting to "sunset" the country's most popular government programs.

In Virginia, the president intends to keep up the pressure by spelling out the devastating potential of such cuts.

Earlier this month, Republican Sen. Rick Scott, of Florida -- who originally proposed the sunset provision -- denied ever specifically targeting Medicare, writing on Twitter that the president "twisted my words" and "forgot to share the facts."

"In my plan, I suggested the following: All federal legislation sunsets in 5 yrs. If a law is worth keeping, Congress can pass it again," Scott wrote. "I've never advocated cutting Social Security or Medicare and never would."

The issue also emerged on the campaign trail before last year's midterm election, when Biden called out Republicans for targeting the foundational benefits of millions of older Americans, while also casting "MAGA Republicans" as becoming too radical for mainstream voters.

Previously, Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy indicated that changes to Social Security and Medicare would not be considered in the current negotiations.