President Joe Biden’s exchange with Republicans over Social Security and Medicare in his State of the Union has created an unusual political situation.
In the aftermath, fiscal conservatives who seek an overhaul of the retirement programs are politically orphaned. Meanwhile, the groups raising the alarm about threats to the programs are at least temporarily mollified, but Biden may have a lessened ability to paint Republicans as opposed to the interest of seniors.
Biden faced major blowback when he suggested that Republicans are jeopardizing Social Security and Medicare and that some Republicans want to “take the economy hostage” unless he agrees to their economic agenda.
The remarks were immediately met by a torrent of booing and shouting, something that has been virtually unheard of in the modern history of the State of the Union. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) yelled, “Liar!”
Biden responded to the pushback in real time. In his speech, as prepared for delivery, the president was slated to add: “Other Republicans say if we don’t cut Social Security and Medicare, they’ll let America default on its debt for the first time in our history.” But he inserted his own ad-lib into the message.
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“I’m not saying it’s a majority of you. I don’t even think it’s even a significant,” Biden injected into his speech, addressing the GOP caucus objecting to the assertion that it wants to cut Social Security and Medicare or use the popular entitlements for leverage. Biden then seemed to acknowledge that the issue was settled. “So folks, as we all apparently agree … we got unanimity,” he said to applause from Republicans.
Indeed, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has said that Social Security and Medicare are off the table while negotiations on the debt ceiling are underway. He reiterated after the speech on Wednesday that the GOP has no intention to cut the programs.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) has nevertheless proposed making most federal spending items, such as Medicare and Social Security, up for renewal every five years, something that critics say could threaten the programs.
Some contend that Biden’s impromptu response to the pushback has earned him a win. In essence, he was able to get what appeared to be most of the Republican voting bloc to commit to leaving the programs alone. Dan Adcock, the director of government relations for the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, described the move as “masterful.”
“I think the way the president played it was masterful in getting them to make that commitment, but it was not like it was signed in blood or anything either,” Adcock told the Washington Examiner. He said, however, that the NCPSSM remains skeptical.
“It’s not as though we’re going to let our guard down, though,” he added, noting language about the programs that some Republicans have used on the campaign trail.
Scott himself released a series of statements following the speech. He emphasized that he never explicitly called for the programs to be cut but rather included them among a big slate of government programs that would be up for renewal.
“Last night, Joe Biden rambled for a while, but it seems he forgot to share the facts. In my plan, I suggested the following: All federal legislation sunsets in five years. If a law is worth keeping, Congress can pass it again,” Scott said. He added that “to suggest that this means I want to cut Social Security or Medicare is a lie and is a dishonest move.”
While congressional Republicans and Scott are pushing back on the notion of cutting the programs, some conservatives and conservative groups have long called for entitlement reform.
After Tuesday night’s speech, Adam Brandon, the president of the free-market advocacy group FreedomWorks, acknowledged to the Washington Examiner that, right now, entitlement reform is “clearly politically infeasible,” but he said reforms can’t be put off indefinitely.
“Entitlements have accounted for nearly half of the federal budget in recent years. Social Security is set to go insolvent in a little more than a decade,” he said. “If we don’t find a bipartisan solution, we’ll soon be looking at drastic, overnight cuts that leave many Americans high and dry. It’s in the best interest of lawmakers to consider reforms to our outdated entitlement programs. To do otherwise would be irresponsible in the long term.”
For the time being, it appears that any changes to Social Security and Medicare are a nonstarter for the GOP, especially after the party put itself on the record by objecting to Biden’s characterizations during the State of the Union.
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Bill Sweeney, the senior vice president of government affairs at AARP, said he was pleased to see the show of bipartisan support for the two major programs during the speech. His group, which represents the interests of older people, has long defended Social Security and Medicare.
“I think it was great to hear, and I think our members are thrilled to hear that they can continue to count on Social Security and Medicare for years to come,” Sweeney said.