Midterm elections and crucial budget decisions continue to dominate the dialogue on Capitol Hill. AMAC participated in a conference call with the Republican Study Committee (RSC) on Thursday, April 10th, to discuss the budget that passed earlier in the day in the House of Representatives. The plan, authored by Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI), aims to balance the budget in ten years via tax cuts, reductions in entitlement spending such as food stamps and college loan programs, and a repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). While the budget stands no chance of passing the Democratic-controlled Senate, it offers a clear outline of what a modern conservative budget proposal looks like and seeks to accomplish.
Representative Patrick McHenry (R-NC) hosted Thursday afternoon’s call. McHenry laid out the harsh reality behind the budget proposal: the spending patterns of our government are simply unsustainable. He noted that America spends more on debt interest today than it does on veterans’ services, for example. Given the financial hole in which we’re putting future generations thanks to today’s unprecedented federal spending levels, McHenry argued that it’s difficult to believe that any Democrat can campaign on the idea of genuinely caring for the American people.
Representative McHenry answered questions from eager conservatives regarding some of today’s most popular political issues, such as Obama’s recent rally call for equal pay. McHenry praised Democrats’ ability to appeal to the masses with these types of social reforms. At the same time, however, he criticized the lack of depth to these reforms. Conservative policies account for the long-term wellness of the country, but they do not appeal to the voter who focuses on what can be accomplished short-term. McHenry acknowledged that conservative policy makers will have to adjust their rhetoric to reflect the necessary, commonsense changes this country desperately needs.
One of the provisions in Ryan’s budget proposal is a fundamental change to the Medicare system. The goal of the provision is to facilitate growth in the private health care market by providing seniors federal grants as opposed to providing government-funded health care. AMAC asked Representative McHenry to speak to the importance of Medicare Advantage to our nation’s seniors. McHenry expressed clear understanding of how detrimental future cuts to the Medicare program – particularly to Medicare Advantage – would be. President Obama’s plan to cut Medicare Advantage benefits has been recently withdrawn, but any future attempts to reduce funding for this highly popular, market-based program would result in a strong bipartisan opposition. (It’s critical to note that the ACA will cut $308 billion from Medicare Advantage over ten years, however.)
In a tense political climate, it’s important to keep in mind some of the underlying forces that may be shaping policy decisions. There’s no doubt that the Obama administration backed away from its proposed Medicare cuts largely because of the upcoming midterm elections. If Republicans gain control of the Senate, proposals such as those presented in Ryan’s budget will certainly pose a bigger threat to the administration. If Democrats want to maintain control, they have to appeal – if only on the surface – to America’s seniors.
The upcoming midterm elections will have a significant impact on path the country will travel in the coming years. To win, Democrats have to dig themselves out of the hole they created with the Affordable Care Act, while Republicans have to find a way to present their policies in a way that resonates with the American people. As the fastest growing seniors’ organization in America, AMAC is working daily to ensure that the issues that matter to mature Americans and seniors are being heard by our lawmakers.
A balanced budget alone will not solve our problems. When we now have a federal behemoth with millions of employees and entitlements being paid out to millions more, we have no way of eliminating the more than $100 TRILLION which is the total debt we as a nation owe. That number includes the debt the politicians don’t talk about – the unfunded liabilities. In the mean time, the current administration and Congress continue to add new spending at breakneck speed.
“A balanced budget alone will not solve our problems.” Quite true. Neither will stopping smoking alone cure us of all ills. But both are good starts. We certainly won’t pay our debts off as a nation until we stop adding over half a trillion to them annually.
Our politicians are like drunks……they won’t change until they (and the country) hit rock bottom. They will continue this spending spree because it makes them fell good and it gets them reelected. Don’t hold your breath waiting for anything to change. Too bad the founding fathers didn’t put some term limits into the Constitution.
The one thing that can be consistently counted on is any talk of Medicare reform, by any Republican, will immediately cause the Democrats to wheel out the same old “throwing granny over a cliff” ad campaign to frighten seniors as election day approaches. That’s all the Democrats have to offer: fear mongering and envy. Yet the Democrat Party itself has done more to weaken Medicare, via Obamacare and cutting $716 billion from Medicare to partially pay for Obamacare, than anything being discussed in the way of potential reforms. The only question is whether seniors will keep falling for the same old Democrat trick.