GOP Forced to Vote on Their Plan to End Medicare and Cut Taxes for the Rich

Top Democrats in Congress have promised to force a vote in the Senate on the GOP’s plan to end Medicare. While the plan does not have the votes to pass, Democrats want to force Republican politicians to put on record their support for ending Medicare and Medicaid while enacting huge new tax cuts for rich Americans.

The Republican budget bill passed the House on April 15th with all Democrats and only 4 Republicans voting against it. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was quoted as saying: “[We’ll] see if Republican senators like the Ryan budget as much as their House colleagues did.”

Meanwhile, more details are coming to light about the effects this plan would have on senior’s health care. On Wednesday the Center for Economic and Policy Research released a report finding that turning Medicare in a voucher program, as the GOP budget plan proposes, would add an additional $34 trillion in medical costs over the next 75 years. These figures are based on the observation that Medicare provides comprehensive care to senior at a lower cost when compared to private health insurance plans.

And while the plan would cost seniors trillions of dollars in medical expenses, it would save rich people a bundle on tax day. A report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that the plan includes $3 trillion in new, regressive tax cuts on top of their proposal to make the Bush Tax cuts permanent. The new tax cuts include lowering the corporate tax rate, lowering the top marginal income tax rate to 25%, and repealing Medicare taxes on income over $250,000.

- Politico / The Hill / Center on Budget and Policy Priorities