The Congressional Budget Office found in its report that the money spent on Social Security and Medicare will likely double by 2033, with expenses being driven up by the rising cost of medical services and an increasing number of people becoming eligible for these programs.
Maintaining Social Security and Medicare is a contentious issue, made all the more blatant when President Biden drew boos from Republicans during his State of the Union address by stating some GOP lawmakers — not a majority, he specified — want the programs to sunset.
Both Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) have stated the two programs are off the table. House Republicans have listed multiple areas where they would like to see cuts, including from several provisions included in the Inflation Reduction Act, but Medicare and Social Security have been left out of these proposals.
“Social Security and Medicare are earned benefit programs that must be saved and strengthened,” the House Budget Committee, chaired by Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), said in a press release last week, accusing Democrats of failing to secure these federal programs.
Democrats have in turn accused Republicans of trying to cut these programs. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) repeated this accusation shortly after the CBO released its projections.
“There now appears to be a growing effort among Republicans to use this crisis they started to end Medicaid as we know it, following through on the extreme cuts and restrictions Donald Trump attempted to impose as president,” Wyden said.
The two parties are at loggerheads when it comes to solving this issue. Republicans have proposed raising the eligibility age to receive benefits while Democrats have brought up potential tax hikes on higher incomes.
