Comment Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) proposed eliminating Social Security and Medicare as federal entitlement programs and making them programs approved by Congress on an annual basis as discretionary spending. Those who work in the United States pay Social Security and Medicare taxes that go into federal trust funds. At retirement, based on lifetime earnings and other factors, a retiree is eligible to receive monthly Social Security payments. Similarly, Medicare is the federal health insurance program started for people 65 and older or for other people with disabilities. In an interview aired Tuesday on “The Regular Joe Show” podcast, Johnson, who is seeking a third term in the Senate, lamented that Social Security and Medicare automatically grant benefits to those who qualify — meaning those who paid into system during their working life. “If you qualify for the right, you just get it no matter the cost,” Johnson said. “And our problem in this country is that more than 70 percent of our federal budget, our federal spending, is all mandatory spending. It’s on autopilot. Never – you just don’t supervise properly. You don’t go in there and fix the programs that fail. It’s just on autopilot.” NEW: On The Regular Joe Show, Senator Ron. Johnson (R-WI) advocates repealing entitlements: “Social Security and Medicare, if you qualify, you just get it regardless of the cost… We should turn everything into discretionary spending so it’s all assessed. ” pic.twitter.com/bE1KUb6uJ5 — Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) August 2, 2022 Johnson proposed turning Social Security and Medicare into programs whose budgets are appropriated by Congress on an annual basis. He pointed out that the budgets for the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs are approved as discretionary spending. “What we need to do is turn everything into discretionary spending so that everything is evaluated so that we can fix problems or fix programs that are broken, that are going to fail,” Johnson said. “As long as things are on autopilot, we keep piling up debt.” Johnson’s comments drew criticism from the White House and Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), who said Democrats would fight any attempt by Republicans to “pull the rug out from under them.” our elderly”. “The junior senator from Wisconsin wants to put Medicare and Social Security on the chopping block,” Schumer told reporters Wednesday. “He has argued that the benefits that millions of Americans rely on every day should not be guaranteed, but should be subject to partisan infighting here in Washington. He would like to defund Medicare and Social Security and make them discretionary. So, you know what happens when we keep things subtle around here? Very often they are cut or even eliminated. We don’t want to do that.” A spokesman for Johnson’s office rejected the idea that Johnson wanted to eliminate Medicare or Social Security. “The senator’s reasoning was that without the fiscal discipline and oversight typically found with discretionary spending, Congress has allowed guaranteed benefits for programs like Social Security and Medicare to be threatened,” Johnson spokeswoman Alexa Henning said in an email. “This must be addressed by Congress, taking seriously its responsibilities to ensure that seniors do not have to question whether the programs they depend on remain solvent,” he added. “As he said, we need a process to save these programs and nobody is doing anything to save them in the long term. We just keep piling up debt, mortgaging our children’s futures and putting these programs at risk.” Asked Wednesday if Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) would support such a plan, a spokesman pointed to his earlier rejection of a proposal by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) that would have similarly overturned Social Security and Medicare. In March, Johnson said he supported “most” of Scott’s plan and called it a “positive thing.” On March 1, Sen. Mitch McConnell blasted Sen. Rick Scott’s bill that the minority leader says would raise taxes and cut Medicare aid. (Video: The Washington Post) “If we’re lucky enough to have a majority next year, I’ll be the majority leader. I will decide in consultation with my members what I will put on the floor,” McConnell told reporters in March. “Let me tell you what would not be part of our agenda: We will not have as part of our agenda a bill that raises taxes on half the American people and destroys Social Security and Medicare within five years.” Earlier this year, Johnson announced he would seek re-election in November, despite an earlier pledge to retire after two terms. He is widely expected to win his primary election next Tuesday. Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who is running for the Democratic nomination for the Senate, criticized his would-be opponent’s remarks about entitlement programs. “Ron Johnson threatens to cut Social Security and Medicare,” Barnes tweeted Tuesday. “~surprise surprise~ self-serving, multi-millionaire Senator is trying to strip workers of Social Security and Medicare benefits they’ve earned over a lifetime of hard work.” According to the nonprofit Census Bureau, Wisconsin ranks 17th in the nation for the percentage of its population 65 and older. This wasn’t the first time Johnson made news for a proposal that prompted even other Republicans to distance themselves. In March, Johnson said he wanted to see the GOP repeal the Affordable Care Act if his party won the White House and House and Senate majorities in 2024, something Republicans failed to do last time. they had majorities in Washington.
