Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said Wednesday that Social Security and Medicare should be approved by Congress every year instead of remaining in their current status as federal entitlement programs.
“Social Security and Medicare, if you’re eligible, you just get it, regardless of the cost,” Johnson said in an interview that aired Tuesday on “The Regular Joe Show” podcast.
The Wisconsin senator, who is up for re-election in a hotly contested race this fall that will help determine which party holds the majority next year, has argued that the mandatory spending status of funding federal programs should be switched to discretionary spending , “so everything is appreciated.”
“Our problem in this country is that more than 70 percent of our federal budget, of our federal spending, is mandatory spending. It’s on autopilot. Never—you’re just not doing proper supervision. You don’t go in there and fix the programs that fail. It’s just on autopilot,” Johnson said.
“As long as things are on autopilot, we just keep piling up debt,” he added.
He argued that funding for the programs should instead come before Congress for annual approval.
A spokesman for Johnson’s office told The Hill in a statement Wednesday that the senator “never proposed putting Medicare and Social Security on the chopping block.”
“The senator’s point was that without the fiscal discipline and oversight typically found in discretionary spending, Congress has allowed guaranteed benefits for programs like Social Security and Medicare to be jeopardized.” This needs to be addressed by Congress, which takes seriously its responsibilities to ensure that seniors do not have to question whether the programs they depend on remain solvent,” the spokesman said.
Social Security benefits are available to retirees in the US, and Medicare health insurance is available to citizens who are over the age of 65 or are disabled. American workers’ taxes fund the programs, with workers paying into federal programs. In the case of Social Security, benefits are tied in part to earnings, which help determine the monthly payment.
Democrats quickly pounced on Johnson’s remarks, suggesting the majority party felt they could hurt Johnson in his re-election bid.
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Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (DN.Y.) said Johnson’s comments indicated the programs could be cut by Republicans.
“They say the silent part out loud. MAGA Republicans want to put Social Security and Medicare on the chopping block,” Schumer wrote, referring to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan.
Johnson’s spokesman contradicted the majority leader, saying in a statement that “Senator Schumer is lying about what Senator Johnson said.”
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