00:00Last question.
00:01Thank you, Leader.
00:02A new report came out a couple months ago saying that Social Security funds,
00:07as well as some other entitlement programs, may be at risk of losing money sooner than expected.
00:14What do you think the Democrats' strategy should be to save those programs from solvency?
00:18Is it just simply taxing the rich, or are there other strategies that you have?
00:21Well, let me first make the observation that Social Security and Medicare are not entitlement programs.
00:28Republicans call them entitlement programs because they believe, these extremists, that they're entitled to cut them.
00:36Social Security and Medicare are earned benefits.
00:42Hardworking American taxpayers pay into those programs through the FICA tax every single working day of their lives.
00:53They've earned those benefits.
00:55They've paid into those benefits.
00:56They deserve their Social Security and Medicare benefits.
01:01By the way, in this one big ugly law, it is likely to trigger more than $500 billion in cuts to Medicare, which is extraordinary.
01:15And we know the Republicans also have put Social Security on the chopping block.
01:19The 60th anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid is going to take place on July 30th,
01:33and House Democrats will have a Medicare Matters and Medicaid Matters Day of Action,
01:40talking about our efforts to both protect and strengthen Medicare and Medicaid and push back against the dramatic cuts to Medicaid that were part of the one big ugly law.
01:53A few weeks after that, on August 7th, I believe, that is the 90th anniversary of Social Security.
02:03And we'll be having a safe Social Security Day of Action, and we'll have more to say about that as we approach it.
02:11But certainly, I'm greatly appreciative of the effort of leaders like John Larson and Richie Neal,
02:19who have previously put forth legislation, Social Security 2100 Act, that is an important part of our strategy to both protect Social Security and strengthen Social Security.
02:41There's a big difference between Democrats and Republicans, and we are going to continue to fight for everyday Americans,
02:50for children, for veterans, for farmers, for hardworking American families, and for older Americans,
03:00which means our message to Republicans will continue to be clear.
03:06Keep your hands off of Social Security and Medicare.
Comments