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President Biden is keeping up the pressure on congressional Republicans over their views on Medicare and Social Security. We’ll also look at some of the proposals Republicans have eyed so far in debt limit talks, IRS plans for a free online tax-filing system by May, and more.
But first, if Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s viral State of The Union outfit reminded you of the Chinese spy balloon … you were onto something.
Welcome to On The Money, your guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line. For The Hill, we’re Sylvan Lane, Aris Folley and Karl Evers-Hillstrom. Subscribe here or in the box below.Biden needles GOP after prime-time showdown
President Biden on Wednesday needled congressional Republicans over their views on Medicare and Social Security, embracing the back-and-forth with lawmakers that highlighted his State of the Union address a day earlier.
“We had a spirited debate last night with my Republican friends. My Republican friends, they seemed shocked when I raised the plans of some of their members and their caucus to cut Social Security,” Biden told union workers in Madison, Wis., noting that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) and other Republicans “stood up and said ‘liar, liar.’”
The president a night earlier had warned in his speech that some Republicans wanted to cut Social Security and Medicare and vowed he would veto any such effort, remarks that elicited boos and jeers from many GOP lawmakers in attendance who argued it was not true.
But Biden on Wednesday provided receipts.
He read directly from a brochure of policy proposals released last year by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) in which the senator proposed sunsetting government programs such as Social Security and Medicare every five years, forcing the federal government to reauthorize them.
Biden on Wednesday also noted that Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) had previously talked about having the government reauthorize spending programs such as Social Security and Medicare on an annual basis.
The Hill’s Brett Samuels has more here.
Scott pushes back: The Florida GOP senator defended his plans in a Twitter thread Wednesday, saying he suggested “all federal legislation sunsets in 5 yrs. If a law is worth keeping, Congress can pass it again.”
He disputed that his proposals amounted to cutting Social Security and Medicare.
Scott last year rankled Republicans when he rolled out a 12-point policy agenda that included the sunset proposal, which Democrats promptly began using as ammunition in the midterms.
“This is clearly and obviously an idea aimed at dealing with all the crazy new laws our Congress has been passing of late,” Scott added, denying Biden’s claim Tuesday evening that Republicans want to end Social Security and Medicare.
