In the News
REMINDER: Florida Republicans Would Gut Social Security and Medicare
Today, President Biden is making a stop in Tampa to highlight the Biden-Harris administration’s fight against Republican attacks on Social Security and Medicare, drawing a stark contrast with Florida Republicans’ plans to gut the programs.
Florida has one of the largest populations of seniors on Social Security and Medicare in the country. But that didn’t stop Senator Rick Scott from releasing a plan last year that included a proposal to “sunset” all federal legislation after five years, including Social Security and Medicare. Meanwhile, Ron DeSantis and Marco Rubio have pushed for legislation that would raise the retirement age and end Medicare and Social Security as we know it.
HERE ARE THE FACTS:
- In 2022, Rick Scott put forth a proposal to sunset all federal legislation every five years. This would subject Social Security and Medicare to reauthorization every five years, which could threaten the guarantee of the programs and throw millions of Florida’s seniors into uncertainty about the future of their benefits.
- In 2022, Marco Rubio introduced legislation that could cut Social Security benefits for some families by disguising it as a proposal for paid family leave. The bill would give parents the option to choose between taking care of their families right now, or securing their retirement in the future because it would pull from future Social Security benefits to fund paid parental leave in the present.
- In 2016, Marco Rubio detailed his plan that would raise the retirement age to 70 and turn Medicare into a voucher program. Rubio has been talking about raising the retirement age and privatizing Medicare since he first ran for Senate in 2010.
- In 2015, Ron DeSantis supported a budget proposal to raise the eligibility age for Social Security and Medicare to 70 and 67, respectively. The proposal would have turned Medicare into a voucher program and given less generous cost-of-living increases to Social Security recipients.