Lawmakers have long avoided a serious debate on entitlement reform, but the issue appears to be coming back into focus for Republicans wary of the nation’s rising debt.
“I was definitely aware of it,” veteran Republican strategist Doug Hay told Fox News Digital of the heightened Republican-led debate on the issue. “Republicans have been talking about this issue for a long time, not necessarily talking about the specifics. But what often happens is they talk about it, get attacked, and back down.”
Congress just ended the government funding battle for fiscal year 2024 with President Biden signing a $1.2 trillion spending package last week, averting a partial government shutdown. But the ugly battle, which took another six months from the end of fiscal year 2023, only accounted for the government’s discretionary spending, which accounts for just over a quarter of annual federal funding.
The majority of federal funding is classified as mandatory spending, which includes entitlement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), colloquially known as “food stamps.” .
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Social Security is predicted to go bankrupt in 2033. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Discussions about raising the Social Security eligibility age and cutting Medicare are always politically charged. But economists are now warning that without changes, these programs will run out of money and face forced cuts anyway, with Medicare expected to fail in 2028 and Social Security in 2033. .
“I think we should be willing to have a serious conversation about this, but I’m not saying this is a new issue,” said Rep. Dusty Johnson, RS.D., chair of the pragmatic House Main Street Caucus. ” he told FOX News. Digital.
Johnson noted that Washington officials convene a task force or commission “every 10 years” to discuss the national debt and the solvency of programs like Social Security and Medicare.
House Main Street Caucus Chairman Dusty Johnson (left) and House Rules Committee Chairman Tom Cole (right) say it may be time for entitlement reform. (Getty Images)
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“Maybe now this issue is a little more mature. [threat of insolvency]“We’re closer than ever,” he said.
Mr. Johnson himself has been at the forefront of pushing for work requirements for federal food benefits, which Democrats have used as a political cudgel, even as the program’s costs have ballooned. But in recent months, a growing number of Republicans have voiced support for entitlement cuts.
Meanwhile, House Rules Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) publicly called for entitlement reform in his announcement that he is running for chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.
Congressman Dusty Johnson has been a vocal advocate of strengthening federal food benefits with work requirements. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a mandatory federal expenditure. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“The Appropriations Committee alone cannot solve America’s deficit problem because discretionary spending is only about 28% of U.S. spending,” Cole said earlier this month. “If we’re going to create a balanced budget, which I strongly believe we should, we need to understand how to fund and reform entitlement programs, which make up about 60% of all spending. We need to have a serious discussion.”
The 175-member Republican Study Committee, a group of House Republicans led by Rep. Kevin Hahn (R-Okla.), recently proposed a budget that calls for raising “the retirement age for future retirees to account for increased life expectancy.” announced. The goal is to restructure Medicare to compete with private options.
Democrats in the White House pounced on the proposal, accusing Republicans of trying to water down Social Security and Medicare. With the November election looming, the Biden campaign is trying to tie Republican victories to deep policy cuts.
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House Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good (R-Virginia) told Fox News Digital that he expects Republicans to work on entitlement reform if they win the White House, House and Senate.
“My hope is that if we could completely control the government, we would be able to provide Social Security and Medicare for current retirees who rely on Social Security and Medicare, and for those nearing retirement, depending on the next few years.” and take the necessary measures to preserve and protect it. [and] Then it exists for people like you,” Good said.
Former President Donald Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican candidate, has not made his position clear on entitlement reform.
Former President Trump did not specifically mention entitlement reform. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
“There’s a lot that can be done, both in terms of rights and in terms of cuts,” he told CNBC earlier this month. Spokeswoman Caroline Levitt later told NBC News that “President Trump will continue to strongly defend Social Security and Medicare in his second term.”
But Paul Winfrey, former White House director of budget policy in the Trump administration and current director of the Economic Policy Innovation Center (EPIC), supported entitlement reform to reduce the national deficit and save the program itself. .
“Interest rates are going up significantly, and so are debt service payments. At the same time, the Fed is having a hard time getting inflation fully under control,” Winfrey told Fox News Digital. “These are market signals that we really need to reduce the budget deficit. And the sooner policymakers start confronting the biggest contributors to the deficit, specifically what’s being spent on federal health programs, the better. They will be more likely to be able to protect programs for their citizens’ most vulnerable. ”
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The federal government spent $2.2 trillion on Social Security and Medicare in 2023, out of $3.8 trillion in mandated spending, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Strategist Doug Hay said he was pessimistic that the talks would turn into action, but suggested Republicans could speak out because reform seems out of reach.
“Depending on who you talk to, entitlement reform is a tool to show voters and some conservative media outlets that you’re fighting, and it doesn’t mean anything is going to happen. In fact, it doesn’t mean anything is going to happen. Yes.’ That has nothing to do with the process, it’s most important to show the willingness to fight,” Hay explained.
