The DPCC has released an alarming analysis of what Tom Price has planned as Secretary of Health and Human Services. Must read: www.dpcc.senate.gov/...
When the new Congress convenes in January, Congressman Tom Price, candidate for Secretary of Health & Human Services, will be able to push through a devastating "War on Seniors" budget proposal.
The Price proposal includes a devious plan that would likely trigger deep cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other priorities, while avoiding the need for members of Congress to vote directly for the cuts. The Price plan does this by automatically triggering a process to establish caps on spending and debt levels upon approval of a budget resolution, with the threat of sequestration cuts to enforce those limits. This, for the first time, would allow the Republican majority to ram through cuts to Social Security (among other programs) using a special fast-track process that denies Senate Democrats their normal rights to defend these programs and ensure an adequate opportunity for public input. If Republicans were to pass President-Elect Trump's tax plan, the resulting increase to the deficit, under this plan, could require cuts to Social Security and Medicare of 13.5 percent, meaning the average Social Security beneficiary would lose more than $2,000 a year. [CAP,10/18/16]
But wait, there’s more...
The Price proposal would repeal the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act, which imposes fiscal discipline by restricting Congress's ability to enact deficit-financed tax breaks and direct spending. This would free Congress to hand out massive new breaks for billionaires and large corporations, while driving up the deficit and laying the groundwork for future Republican demands for additional cuts to middle class benefits.
These proposed changes are complex, stealthy, and potentially devastating to the nation’s poor, sick, elderly and disabled. Support your Democratic representatives as they battle these awful assaults on the weakest members of our society. All hands are needed on deck. Get the word out to the low-info folks any way possible.