Cantwell Calls on President-Elect Trump to Fulfill Promises to Oppose Cuts to Medicare and Medicaid
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, United States Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) joined 20 fellow U.S. senators in calling on President-Elect Donald Trump to fulfill his campaign promise of opposing cuts to Medicare and Medicaid and to publicly clarify his new position on these crucial healthcare programs.
“During your campaign for President of the United States, you differentiated yourself from your 16 primary opponents by noting that you were the only Republican who would protect Medicare and Medicaid,” the senators wrote. “After winning the election, you suddenly appear to be using language supporting policies that would gut the Medicare and Medicaid programs.”
Despite his campaign promises, President-Elect Trump has now seemingly changed his position. While Trump highlighted the importance of Medicare and Medicaid in public statements and on his campaign website, he is now echoing Congressional Republicans’ plans to cut these programs. The senators pressed President-Elect Trump to hold true to his campaign promises and reject any cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.
“We ask that you rapidly and publicly clarify in plain language for the American public that you continue to stand behind your campaign promises; that you will not raise the Medicare eligibility age; that you will not privatize, voucherize, or otherwise cut Medicare benefits; and that you will not put in place changes to Medicaid that force enrollees’ coverage to be dropped and benefits to be cut or limited. You promised Americans you would not cut Medicare or Medicaid—please tell Americans you will stand by your promise to them.”
Medicare and Medicaid are critical to more than one hundred million Americans who rely on these programs for health care including seniors, low-income children and families, and people with disabilities.
The letter was also signed by Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii).
The full letter can be found here.
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