President Joe Biden’s and Democrats’ $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus bill includes so much special interest funding that it will force a $36-billion cut to Medicare starting in 2021, according to a letter from the Congressional Budget Office to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
And as much as $90 million in other Medicare programs would be slashed, according to the CBO.
Republicans on the House Budget Committee unanimously voted against the package, noting the bill includes just eight percent of its spending toward COVID-19 relief.
Instead the Democrat stimulus plan, which the full House was expected to pass on Friday, includes other non-COVID relief items such as $100 million for a Silicon Valley transit expansion project and $135 million for the National Endowment of Arts.
National Republican Congressional Committee Spokeswoman Torunn Sinclair said in a statement about the Medicare cuts, “America’s seniors are having to pay the price for House Democrats’ socialist agenda. Slashing seniors’ health benefits amidst a pandemic is despicable.”
