Hawley wants to shield Social Security, Medicare from debt ceiling talks. Experts say it won’t work
Sen.
“These are key programs that, frankly, every American relies on,” said Hawley, a
Hawley’s bill would effectively aim to eliminate the debt ceiling for the two programs, allowing the
But Hawley’s plan ignores the interest payments the
“It pretends that
“We should never flirt with not paying our credit card bill,” said Sen.
While it is possible to give instructions to the
“It directs
It is unlikely that Hawley’s bill would make it through
After the mid-term elections, Hawley declared the old
Edelberg said she saw the bill as a political attempt for Hawley to say he was doing everything he could to protect
“Given that they know that this has no chance of passing, given that this is three pages, and not even a full three pages, and they’ve clearly not talked to anybody who is going to explain actually how
But while the programs have become an essential part of America’s social fabric, the
There have been efforts to reform the programs in the past. During the Reagan administration in the 1980s,
“Keeping it solvent and steps to save it I think are absolutely vital, what I’m talking about is cutting it,” Hawley said. “In my mind, those are two different things.”
Hawley is not the only Republican who doesn’t want changes to the programs to be part of debt ceiling talks. Former President
And as members of the House Republican conference have talked openly about changes, leadership has pushed back. Rep.
“The Republican Party is the party of the working class,” Smith said last month on
House Speaker
He met with President
Edelberg said she considers plans for what to do in the event of a default as irresponsible, because the people making those plans have the ability to avoid the chaos that comes with default by simply raising the debt ceiling.
“The only the only good outcome here is
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