ROUNDUP: After Tax Giveaway To The Rich, Republicans Are Targeting Medicare, Health Care, And Social Security

Date: October 18, 2018

ROUNDUP: After Tax Giveaway To The Rich, Republicans Are Targeting Medicare, Health Care, And Social Security

REPUBLICANS BLEW UP THE DEFICIT WITH THEIR TAX SCAM FOR THE RICH - NOW THEY'RE GOING AFTER MEDICARE, MEDICAID, AND SOCIAL SECURITY TO PAY FOR IT.

Bloomberg: McConnell Blames Entitlements, Not GOP, For Rising Deficits. "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blamed rising federal deficits and debt on a bipartisan unwillingness to contain spending on Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, and said he sees little chance of a major deficit reduction deal while Republicans control Congress and the White House. 'It's disappointing, but it's not a Republican problem," McConnell said Tuesday in an interview with Bloomberg News when asked about the rising deficits and debt. "It's a bipartisan problem: unwillingness to address the real drivers of the debt by doing anything to adjust those programs to the demographics of America in the future.' McConnell's remarks came a day after the Treasury Department said the U.S. budget deficit grew to $779 billion in Donald Trump's first full fiscal year as president, the result of the GOP's tax cuts, bipartisan spending increases and rising interest payments on the national debt. That's a 77 percent increase from the $439 billion deficit in fiscal 2015, when McConnell became majority leader." [Bloomberg, 10/16/18 ]

New York Times: No, Trump's Tax Cut Isn't Paying For Itself (At Least Not Yet). "The Treasury Department released figures on Monday showing the federal budget deficit widened by 17 percent in the 2018 fiscal year, to $779 billion. That's an unusual jump for a year in which unemployment hit a five-decade low and the economy experienced a significant economic expansion. But the increase demonstrates that the tax cuts President Trump signed into law late last year have reduced federal revenues considerably, even against the backdrop of a booming economy." [NYT, 10/17/18 ]

Washington Post: McConnell Calls Deficit 'Very Disturbing,' Blames Federal Spending, Dismisses Criticism Of Tax Cut. "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday called the ballooning budget deficit 'very disturbing' but said large federal spending programs were to blame, dismissing criticism that last year's GOP tax cuts are saddling the country with more debt." [Washington Post, 10/16/18 ]

Newsweek: Mitch McConnell Calls For Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid Cuts After Passing Tax Cuts, Massive Defense Spending. "After instituting a $1.5 trillion tax cut and signing off on a $675 billion budget for the Department of Defense, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that the only way to lower the record-high federal deficit would be to cut entitlement programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security." [Newsweek, 10/16/18 ]

The Guardian: McConnell Blames Budget Deficit Rise On Government Programs - Not Republican Tax Cuts. "A day after the treasury department announced the federal budget deficit had reached $779bn, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said popular government programs, not massive tax cuts passed by Republicans last year, were to blame. Independent analyses have found the tax cuts have caused the deficit to balloon faster than predicted. In an interview with Bloomberg News on Tuesday, however, McConnell rejected that argument." [The Guardian, 10/17/18 ]

Independent Journal Review: Deficit Skyrockets Because Of Tax Cuts, But McConnell Says It's 'Not A Republican Problem.' "The United States budget deficit just hit its highest peak in six years under the Trump administration, and according to Bloomberg analysis, it's due to tax cuts and increased spending. The deficit now sits at $779 billion, which is bad news for the country's $21.5 trillion debt. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the deficit problem is not because of the party that has controlled Congress and the White House for the past two years." [IJR, 10/16/18 ]

Washington Examiner: Democrats Warn Voters: The GOP Is Coming For Your Social Security, Healthcare. "When they passed the tax bill last year, congressional Republicans agreed to allow an increase in deficits over a decade by up to $1.5 trillion. They argued that a growing economy would help the tax cuts pay for themselves. But others dismissed that analysis, and the Treasury Department reported Monday that the federal budget deficit rose to $779 billion for fiscal year 2018, the largest shortfall since 2012." [Washington Examiner, 10/17/18 ]

Talking Points Memo: McConnell Calls For Cutting Government Programs To Deal With 'Disturbing' Debt. "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) called on Congress to rein in major government programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security in order to slow America's spiraling national debt on Tuesday, ignoring the fact the tax plan he recently passed has further grown that number." [TPM, 10/16/18 ]

Huffington Post: Democrats Pounce On Mitch McConnell For Blaming Debt On Social Security, Medicare. "For months now, Democratic leaders and congressional candidates have argued that the budget-busting Republican tax cuts put Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid at risk. It was only a matter of time, they warned, before the GOP seamlessly pivoted from adding $1.9 trillion to the national debt to decrying the poor state of the nation's finances, as if they had nothing to do with it, and demanding that the budget be balanced on the back of the country's three biggest social insurance programs... On Tuesday, some three weeks before the midterm elections, Democrats received more ammunition for their narrative, this time from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Asked in a Bloomberg News interview for his reaction to news that the annual budget deficit exploded in President Donald Trump's first full fiscal year in office, McConnell played the part of serious-minded budget hawk." [Huffington Post, 10/17/18 ]

Vox: The Deficit Is Rising, So Republicans Want To Cut Social Security And Medicare. "Fresh off the news that the deficit is increasing under President Donald Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told Bloomberg News that Congress should target Social Security and Medicare for cuts to address the growing federal debt. The federal deficit grew by nearly $800 billion over the first fiscal year of Trump's presidency, during which the Republican Congress passed a tax cut targeted mostly to corporations and the wealthy, which is projected to add more than $1 trillion to the deficit over the next 10 years. The White House and GOP leaders promised that despite all projections to the contrary, the tax cuts would pay for themselves. That hasn't materialized so far." [Vox, 10/17/18 ]

Rolling Stone: Remember When Republicans Called The Deficit 'Immoral'? "Because Republicans would never dare advocate for a decrease in military spending, cuts will have to come to programs that benefit low-income Americans. On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said as much, blaming the deficit increase on pesky entitlements like Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid." [Rolling Stone, 10/17/18 ]

REPUBLICANS ARE GOING AFTER YOUR HEALTH CARE, INCLUDING PROTECTIONS FOR AMERICANS WITH PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS.

Reuters: McConnell Says Senate Republicans Might Revisit Obamacare Repeal. "Republicans could try again to repeal Obamacare if they win enough seats in U.S. elections next month, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said on Wednesday, calling a failed 2017 push to repeal the healthcare law a 'disappointment.' In a forecast of 2019 policy goals tempered by uncertainty about who would win the congressional elections, McConnell blamed social programs, such as Social Security and Medicare, for the fast-rising national debt." [Reuters, 10/17/18]

Washington Post: McConnell: GOP May Take Another Shot At Repealing Obamacare After The Midterms. "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Wednesday that Republicans may try again to repeal the Affordable Care Act after the November midterm elections, reviving an issue that polls show has swung sharply in the Democrats' favor. In an interview with Reuters, McConnell said that his party's failure last year to repeal the health-care law, also known as Obamacare, was 'the one disappointment of this Congress from a Republican point of view.'" [Washington Post, 10/17/18 ]

Business Insider: Mitch McConnell Just Hinted Republicans Could Take Another Crack At Repealing Obamacare If The Midterms Go His Way. "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wants another shot at repealing the Affordable Care Act, the law better known as Obamacare. 'If we had the votes to completely start over, we'd do it,' McConnell told Reuters in an interview Wednesday. 'But that depends on what happens in a couple weeks... we're not satisfied with the way Obamacare is working.'" [Business Insider, 10/17/18 ]

Newsweek: Republicans Will Take On Obamacare And Entitlements If They Win In Midterms, Mitch McConnell Says. "Less than 24 hours after indicating that he would like to cut spending on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told Reuters that if Republicans win the Senate this November, they will once again take up their fight to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare." [Newsweek, 10/17/18 ]

Fox News: McConnell Hints GOP Will Try Obamacare Repeal Again Next Year. Senate "Majority Leader Mitch McConnell suggested Wednesday that Republicans would take another stab at repealing the Affordable Care Act after the midterms, saying in an interview that 'we're not satisfied with the way ObamaCare is working.'" [Fox News, 10/17/18 ]

The Hill: McConnell: GOP Could Try To Repeal ObamaCare Again After Midterms. "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Wednesday that Republicans may take another crack at repealing ObamaCare if they maintain a majority in Congress. 'If we had the votes to completely start over, we'd do it,' McConnell told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday." [The Hill, 10/17/18 ]