“ ‘I know that a lot of Republicans, their dream is to cut Social Security, Medicare. Well, let me say this: If that’s your dream, I’m your nightmare.’”
— President Joe Biden
President Biden on Thursday further amplified his promise to protect Social Security and Medicare, echoing charged remarks during his State of the Union speech earlier in the week. “I will not cut a single Social Security or Medicare benefit,” Biden said, speaking at the University of Tampa in Florida on Thursday.
He called Social Security a “promise we made” and a “sacred trust, a rock-solid guarantee. Generations of Americans have counted on it, and it works.” Biden said he wants to protect Medicare and Social Security, despite efforts by some congressional Republicans to cut these programs. The Margin: State of the Union moments: Marjorie Taylor Greene calls Biden a ‘liar’ as atmosphere in House chamber gets heated Taking his message to Florida, Biden brought the argument to the home turf of millions of retirees and more than one Republican politician seeking to build a national profile, such as Sen. Rick Scott, who last year proposed sunsetting all federal programs, which would include Social Security and Medicare, every five years, requiring their reauthorization by Congress — or not. Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin has proposed sunsetting legislation annually, which could put the health and economic security of 63 million Medicare beneficiaries, 69 million Medicaid beneficiaries and 65 million Social Security beneficiaries up for reauthorization every single year. “I guarantee it will not happen,” Biden said on Thursday. “I will veto it.” In his State of the Union speech on Tuesday he had highlighted such Republican positions, conceding that this was a priority for some but not all members of that party. His broaching of the matter — to some, the “third rail” of U.S. domestic politics — before the joint session was met with boos from the GOP side of the House chamber, with at least one audience member shouting out, “Liar.” Read: Social Security is finally a hot topic for Republicans and Democrats — thanks to Biden’s State of the Union speech A key reason that Social Security is too charged a topic for most politicians to risk touching is that it’s a crucial lifeline for many older Americans — and a program that most members of the workforce, by the time the …