 | Washington, DC – Ways and Means Ranking Member Dave Camp (R-MI), Social Security Subcommittee Ranking Member Sam Johnson (R-TX) and Health Subcommittee Ranking Member Wally Herger (R-CA) today made the following statements on the release of the 2010 Social Security and Medicare Trustees Reports: |
Rep. Camp: “The reports of the Social Security and Medicare Trustees released today again sound the alarm that spending on Social Security and Medicare is on an unsustainable path. Without real solutions, the critical benefits so many Americans rely on, and future generations have been promised, are at risk.
"Unfortunately, many of the policies being pursued in Washington, including record levels of debt and deficit spending, are making matters worse, and we are fast losing the nation’s trust. While Washington Democrats are touting the report as evidence their Medicare cuts “protect” Medicare, the Obama Administration’s own Medicare actuaries warn these cuts could jeopardize seniors’ access to care.
"As a member of the President’s Commission tasked with proposing recommendations to address our nation’s long-term fiscal outlook, I am committed to putting us back on the right track. By working together we can find pro-growth, pro-job solutions to restore our nation’s fiscal future and strengthen Social Security and Medicare without endangering seniors’ health benefits. Americans are tired of empty promises and are counting on us to find answers that will make our country strong again. As this report shows, time is short and we cannot afford to fail.”
Rep. Johnson: "On the eve of Social Security’s 75th anniversary, the Trustees Report serves as a sobering call for action. Now more than ever the American people deserve a bipartisan effort that responsibly fixes Social Security for good. While current and near retirees deserve the peace of mind of knowing that they will get their promised retirement benefits, we also have a responsibility to ensure that Social Security will be there for younger workers. For the good of the American people, we need to put politics aside and work together. As the Social Security Subcommittee Ranking Member, I am ready, willing and able to do just that."
Rep. Herger: “The Trustees Report makes it clear that the Obama administration can’t have it both ways. The half-a-trillion dollars of Medicare cuts in the Democrats’ health care overhaul cannot simultaneously strengthen Medicare’s fiscal position and offset the cost of a brand-new entitlement program. A private business owner who tried to use this kind of double-counting would be prosecuted for fraud. To balance the federal budget and ensure that programs like Medicare and Social Security will be solvent in the future, we must repeal the Democrats’ reckless health care plan and replace it with reforms that will truly reduce the cost of health care.” ###
House Committee on Ways & Means - Republican: 1139E Longworth HOB, Washington, D.C. 20515 | Phone (202) 225-4021 | Fax (202) 225-5680
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