Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA)
Senate Republicans have apparently turned their
budget writing over to freshman Pat Toomey (PA).
Senate Republicans led by Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), introduced a measure that excludes an overhaul of Medicare, which is the most controversial part of the Republican budget passed by the House last month.
Toomey said his plan would actually spend more on Medicare than President Obama’s budget request. The decision to leave Medicare untouched triggered grumbling from the right.
Which is interesting. And not really true, as Igor Volsky at the Wonk Room details. This proposal keeps the Medicare Advantage cuts that were included in the Affordable Care Act. Cuts which Pat Toomey ran against as a candidate.
Toomey may be doing more to Medicare than he lets on. Republicans have stressed that the proposal would not cut the program — in fact it would increase funding thanks to a provision that would address the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) — but as The Hill’s Julian Pecquet has written, this would mean that the $500 billion in cuts from the Affordable Care Act would remain in place. The GOP has repeatedly condemned these cuts throughout the health care reform debate, despite voting for them as part of Paul Ryan’s budget. During the 2010 election, Toomey even ran ads against Democratic challenger Joe Sestak for supporting reductions to the Medicare program. A press release accompanying the ad included the following facts about Sestak’s record:
- The health care bill includes $500 billion in Medicare cuts over the next decade (CBSNews.com, 03/21/10).
- The health care bill will “slice an additional $60 billion from Medicare, with the privately run program known as Medicare Advantage targeted for particularly deep cuts, bringing the total reduction in projected spending on the program to more than $500 billion over the next decade” (The Washington Post, 03/19/10).
Kind of looks like the Republicans are completely floundering over Medicare. Toomey is among the long-time entitlement slashers, who says about this budget "If I were afraid of going after entitlements, I wouldn’t have done that. I wouldn’t have put Medicaid reform in this budget."
He's not afraid of Medicaid reform, using the same proposal as Ryan for making the program a block grant, but he is afraid of Medicare reform, making the excuse that the "dysfunctional Congress" will prevent it (rather than fear of an irate electorate). Except that he—and fellow Senate Republicans—are now pushing the same cuts that they ran against in 2010. If this is confusing to you, you're not alone. Imagine trying to be a Republican Senator.
All of which points to one thing: Majority Leader Harry Reid needs to force a vote in the Senate on the Ryan plan.