Yacht owning Joe Manchin stands with Republicans to support commissions which are certain to promote cuts to Medicare and Social Security giving Republicans 50 Senate votes and an R controlled House only VP Harris' no vote and President Biden's veto to stop it. President Biden rightly called them "death panels"and stands irrevocably opposed to it. House Republicans have already demanded cuts to Medicare and Social Security in exchange for raising the debt ceiling. Of course, all republicans in Congress voted for the budget busting $2Trillion tax cut for the wealthy and corporations and they raised the debt ceiling three times during the orange bigot's term in office. They are economic terrorists. This position is so extreme that even the orange bigot opposes it. As many readers of Daily Kos know already, a quarter of the national debt was incurred during the orange bigot's term in office. No republican president since prior to President Reagan has decreased the deficit. When they occupy the White House, they show no interest in fiscal discipline, but as soon as a democrat is in the White House, they suddenly become deficit hawks. What's worse is that they reduce Treasury receipts by giving huge tax cuts to the wealthy who don't need it while cutting the social safety net for those most in need.
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" White House blasts Manchin-GOP push for Social Security 'death panel'
The Biden White House made clear on Monday that it opposes the creation of commissions to devise changes—and possible cuts—to Social Security and other U.S. trust funds, rejecting an idea embraced by Republicans and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin amid a dangerous standoff over the nation's debt ceiling.
In a statement to Bloomberg Government, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates called the proposed commissions a "death panel for Medicare and Social Security," repurposing a term that GOP lawmakers used frequently in their attacks on the Affordable Care Act.
The commissions in question are central to legislation known as the TRUST Act, which Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), Manchin (D-W.Va.), and other lawmakers reintroduced in 2021 and have frequently touted as a potential path to a bipartisan compromise on Social Security and Medicare.
But advocates warn that the commissions—modeled after the infamous Obama-era Bowles-Simpson initiative—are an attempt to fast-track cuts to Social Security and Medicare. Under the TRUST Act, bipartisan panels of lawmakers would be established with a mandate to craft "legislation that restores solvency and otherwise improves" the programs—a vague and highly subjective standard.
The legislation would then receive expedited consideration in Congress, with no amendments permitted.
"We need to expand Social Security's modest benefits, never cut them."
As recently as last month, Manchin floated the TRUST Act as a possible way to reach a deal with the House GOP to avert a debt ceiling disaster. Republicans have demanded steep cuts and changes to Social Security, Medicare, and discretionary spending—which includes education, healthcare, and climate outlays—as part of any deal to raise the federal government's borrowing limit.
Social Security Works, a progressive advocacy group that has been a vocal opponent of the TRUST Act, applauded the White House's stated opposition to the TRUST Act.
"They are absolutely right—the TRUST Act is a ploy to gut Social Security and Medicare behind closed doors," the group tweeted late Monday. "We need to expand Social Security's modest benefits, never cut them."
Of course, Senator Manchin is with the Republicans, but the question is whether Senator Sinema will support this as she did previously. If so, that would give them 51 votes for this garbage legislation in the Senate and it will pass the House of Representatives since it is controlled by the Republican Party, but it will be vetoed by President Biden.