Providing for Consideration of H.R. Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, and Providing for Consideration of H.R. No Funds for Iranian Terrorism Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. McGARVEY. Mr. Speaker, Social Security and Medicare are lifelines for hundreds of thousands of seniors in my district in Louisville, Kentucky, and for millions of seniors across America.
Unfortunately, the House Republicans continue to advocate for stripping hardworking Americans of their earned benefits. I stress ``earned.''
Social Security and Medicare are a contract, a legal and moral promise that our country has made for people who have paid into a program, and then we said: Guess what? We will be there for you. We will be there to provide a safe and secure retirement for you in your golden years.
For millions of Americans, a Social Security check is the difference between keeping the lights on or falling behind on bills. Their Medicare coverage is the difference between taking or not taking their insulin.
Stripping back these crucial benefits is dangerous, and it is extreme.
Just a few weeks ago, one of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle explicitly stated that they wanted to elect a Speaker who has the courage to talk about ending Social Security and Medicare as we know it.
My hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, is home to more than 350,000 Medicare beneficiaries. That is over 350,000 Louisvillians who paid into the program their entire working lives so that they could depend on those benefits now.
Thanks to Democrats and the Inflation Reduction Act, healthcare is more affordable and more accessible than ever before. As we speak, Medicare is negotiating to lower the price of 10 prescription drugs for part D recipients, with more to come. Out-of-pocket insulin costs have been capped at $35 a month.
There is more to do, but extremists in the House Republican Conference are trying to privatize, cut, and end these crucial programs. House Democrats will continue fighting to protect these benefits for generations to come.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to defeat the previous question.
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