NCPSSM - National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
07/15/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/15/2024 14:00
Like Trump, J.D. Vance Can’t Be Trusted to Protect Social Security and Medicare
Donald Trump's pick for Vice President, J.D. Vance, cannot be trusted any more than Trump himself to protect Social Security and Medicare. Like Trump, Vance has talked out of both sides of his mouth on this issue in order to hoodwink American seniors.
Long before he ran for Senate from Ohio, J.D. Vance called for trillions of dollars to be cut from 'entitlement' programs and for the conversion of Medicare into a voucher program. He wrote that the Republican Party was "the party of the aging white person" and that this "constituency" depends on Social Security and Medicare, creating one of the "biggest roadblocks to any kind of real fiscal sanity."
Vance also called for repeal of the Affordable Care Act and converting Medicaid into a block grant program, both of which would imperil health coverage for lower income Americans and especially near seniors.
As a candidate for Senate in 2022, Vance attempted to walk-back some of those positions, because of the enormous popularity of Social Security and Medicare among Americans across party lines. Like Trump, who also has been all over the map when it comes to seniors' earned benefits, Vance insists that he no longer wants to slash either program.
Vance has close ties to the right-wing Heritage Foundation, which authored the infamous Project 2025 - a blueprint for a second Trump term that would shred vital social programs and repeal the Inflation Reduction Act (which is lowering drug prices for American seniors). Senator Vance received a 93% rating on the Heritage Foundation's legislative scorecard for the 118th Congress - thirty points higher than the average Senator.
While trump falsely claims that he's never heard of Project 2025 and that the Heritage Foundation doesn't speak for him, his VP Pick has heaped praise on the organization, writing in 2023, "We owe so much to the Heritage Foundation and all that they've contributed to our cause over the past fifty years."
Trump and Vance pose as populists, but they support right-wing policies and special interests whose aim is to further enrich the wealthy and huge corporations at the expense of working people and retirees. By contrast, President Biden called Social Security and Medicare "sacred" obligations. He wants to see both programs strengthened by demanding the wealthy pay their fair share, and has vowed, "If anyone tries to cut Social Security and Medicare, I will stop them"
Seniors should not be fooled. For retirees who depend on their earned benefits for financial and health security, the choice between the two presidential tickets could not be clearer. - Max Richtman, President & CEO, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
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Media Contact:
Walter Gottlieb