(Larry Downing, Reuters)
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi says that House Dems will not support a debt limit deal that includes cuts to Medicare and Social Security, backing up
Rep. Van Hollen and the
Congressional Progressive Caucus. Her
remarks followed the meeting this morning with President Obama and other Congressional leaders. The gist of her remarks: "Members of her caucus won't vote for a grand bargain to raise the debt limit and reduce future deficits if the final deal includes cuts to Medicare and Social Security benefits—and that means it probably won't pass."
"You [asked], 'could the changes compromise the vote?'" Pelosi said at a Thursday afternoon briefing near the House chamber. "I said yes."
...
"We have been very clear Democrats are not supporting -- House Democrats are not supporting any cuts in benefits for Social Security or Medicare," she said....
Pelosi argued at her press conference that any savings wrung from Social Security and Medicare should be rerouted into strengthening those programs, not toward reducing deficits.
"Any discussion of Medicare or Social Security should be on its own table," Pelosi warned. "Do not consider Social Security a piggy bank for giving tax cuts to the wealthiest people in our country...."
"As far as our meeting was concerned, I think I can legitimately put to our caucus that their views have been heard and very strongly so."
Pelosi has been hard at work making the case for no changes to Medicare: "It is a flag we've planted that we will protect and defend. We have a plan. It's called Medicare." She's argued from a standpoint that Dems could gain back the House in 2012 on the basis of the Republican plan to gut Medicare. Any gains made for Dems in that, however, essentially would be nullified by cuts to Medicare and Social Security in this debt ceiling deal.