Congressman Suggests Pushing Nation To Default Unless Obama Slashes Health Care Coverage For Seniors
As Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Mike Lee (R-UT) push the Republican party to shut down the government in a bid to defund the Affordable Care Act, some House Republicans are hoping to use the coming fight over raising the nation’s debt limit as leverage to score structural reforms to entitlement programs.
During an interview with Minnesota Public Radio on Friday, Rep. John Kline (R-MN), Chairman of the the Committee on Education and the Workforce, hinted that Republicans should refuse to raise the debt ceiling unless President Obama agrees to raise the eligibility age for the Medicare program, keeping millions of younger seniors from receiving health care coverage.
“I think the real answer to the debt limit is to get some agreement from Senate Democrats and more specifically the White House that you’ve got to do something about entitlements,” Kline said in a reference to Social Security and Medicare.
In particular, Kline is interested in ideas such as a higher retirement age.
When asked whether it’s appropriate to push for such complex changes with just weeks to go before the federal government runs out borrowing room, Kline said, “yes.”
“I think it’s a better place to have this fight,” he said
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/09/23/2665961/congressman-wants-to-hold-the-debt-ceiling-hostage-to-kicking-some-seniors-off-of-medicare/
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