Biden Heads To Florida To Challenge GOP On Spending Proposals

[Webster]

(The Guardian) Biden to hammer Republicans over spending proposals
Joe Biden is heading to Florida today, where he is set to continue to hammer Republicans over potential cuts to social security and Medicare.

Biden will highlight his work to protect both programs, the White House said, at a time when, according to Biden, Republicans are continuing “to push plans that would undermine these programs and the economic security of millions of their constituents”.

The visit, and focus on social programs, comes after Biden’s accusations during his State of the Union speech that some Republicans want to ‘sunset’ social security and medicare. The sunset idea, proposed by Rick Scott, a Florida senator, would mean all federal programs – and social security and medicare are federal programs – would expire every five years, and need to be reauthorized to continue.

In his State of the Union address Biden said: “Instead of making the wealthy pay their fair share, some Republicans — some Republicans — want Medicare and Social Security to sunset.”

Today the president plans to continue to hammer home the message about Republicans potential plans – although senior GOP leaders have distanced themselves from Scott’s ideas – in a state that has swung more Republican in recent years. Florida is also a state that is governed by Ron De Santis, a potential Biden presidential opponent in 2024.

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In his Florida speech later Joe Biden will draw attention to “congressional Republicans’ long record of working to cut Medicare [and] Social Security”, according to a White House memo.

CNN reported that advisors to Biden “don’t view the Sunshine State as a key piece of the electoral map in a 2024 run” – a reminder of how a once swing-state has moved dramatically towards Republicans.

So rather than kick off a long path towards winning the state in the next presidential election, Biden is instead making the journey, according to CNN: Because there are no issues that dramatically pop in their polling like Medicare and Social Security.

There’s no state with a larger population that utilizes those programs and most critically. And there are no two politicians they want to spar with more on the programs than [Florida politicians] Sen Rick Scott and Gov Ron DeSantis.

“For years, Republican Members of Congress have repeatedly tried to cut Medicare and Social Security, move toward privatizing one or both programs, and raise the Social Security retirement age and Medicare eligibility age,” the White House said in its memo.

It drew attention to comments by senior Republicans regarding cutting Social Security and Medicare benefits, including by Scott.