Advocates launch pledge campaign to protect Social Security and Medicare

Social Security Works, More Perfect Union, Indivisible, MoveOn, and many other prominent organizations have launched a campaign demanding that members of Congress pledge to protect Social Security and Medicare. This campaign is a response to Congressional Republican leadership initiatives signaling that Republicans will fail to support a lifting of the debt ceiling without Congress cutting Social Security and Medicare.

The advocates want all of our Congressional representatives to commit to never cutting Social Security and Medicare. As it is, Social Security pays for all of its costs through payroll contributions. It does not consume a penny from the treasury. It needs strengthening in a manner that is fair and continues to pay for itself.  Congress should support Congressman Larson’s Social Security 2100 Act, which would lift the cap on Social Security contributions so everyone paid in throughout the course of the year.

Medicare pays for part of its costs through payroll contributions and the rest through the general treasury. Medicare is critical for the health and well-being of older adults and people with disabilities. Congress cannot cut benefits or raise costs in Medicare without keeping more people with Medicare from getting needed care, driving some into disability and others to premature death.

That all said, those members of Congress who want to address waste and fraud need only look to the tens of billions of dollars in past excess payments and hundreds of billions of dollars in future excess payments to Medicare Advantage plans, as a result of the current payment system. Those overpayments are well documented and easy to recoup without repercussions on the health and well–being of people with Medicare. In fact, recouping those overpayments would bring down Medicare Part B premiums and strengthen the Medicare Trust Fund.

Every member of Congress should follow President Biden’s lead in committing to no cuts to Social Security and Medicare and sign the DontCutSocialSecurity.org pledge. You can click on the website to see which members of Congress have signed and which are not signing.

“Democrats were elected on the promise that they would defend Social Security against Republican attacks. Now is the moment of the truth. Democrats must refuse to cut Social Security. And they must refuse to create a mechanism — such as a closed door commission — to cut Social Security down the road.” – Alex Lawson, Executive Director of Social Security Works

“We can’t let dogmatic Republicans hold the most crucial government program protecting those who need it most hostage. It is critical for the Democrats to stay united and stand their ground against this latest effort to gut social security and medicare.” – Faiz Shakir, Executive Editor at More Perfect Union

Americans, regardless of party affiliation, overwhelmingly support protecting Social Security and are opposed to program cuts. The same is true of Medicare. Social Security and Medicare are national treasures. Lifting the debt ceiling should not be conditioned on cuts to these invaluable earned benefits.

Here’s more from Just Care:

• House speaker McCarthy opens door to Medicare and Social Security cuts
• Congress should eliminate the cap on Social Security contributions in 2023
• Expand Social Security, don’t means test it
• Poll: Many more older adults delayed care because of cost in 2022
• 2023: Medicare premiums and other costs