Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) received “Four Pinocchios” from The Washington Post for her assertion that Republicans would take away Medicare benefits.
The lawmaker, who has been at her post for almost three decades, claimed “Washington seniors who have spent their lives paying into these programs deserve better — and I’ll keep fighting to make sure they get it.”
Republicans plan to end Social Security and Medicare if they take back the Senate.
— Senator Patty Murray (@MurrayCampaign) September 25, 2022
Washington seniors who have spent their lives paying into these programs deserve better—and I’ll keep fighting to make sure they get it.
The Post quelled fears saying, “Don’t worry, seniors: There is no such plan,” in their assessment of Murray’s statement about Republicans’ plans.
The Post’s Glenn Kessler touched on the history of support for Medicare during his explanation of Murray’s falsity, saying, “Most Republican politicians supported the creation of Social Security in 1935, although more Republicans opposed it than Democrats. Republicans were marginally more likely than Democrats to oppose the new Medicare program when it was established in 1965, but Democrats overwhelmingly favored it.”
Republicans’ hesitance is something Democrats have reportedly frequently brought up during election struggles and in 2014 House Democrats accused, without merit, then-congressional candidate Martha McSally of a plan to “privatize” Social Security.
During the 2020 presidential race, President Joe Biden accused former President Donald Trump of a “plan” to drain Social Security benefits so it would run out within just a few years, this accusation was false, as was another Biden made during the same campaign where he accused Trump of wanting to “slash Medicare benefits.”
The latest accusation by Murray is reportedly based primarily on a 60-page report released in February by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) in his capacity as the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee as part of the committee’s efforts to help elect Republicans to the Senate. The document included an “11-point plan to rescue America” including 128 proposals.
On page 38 of the report, the restructuring includes the statement that “All federal legislation sunsets in 5 years. If a law is worth keeping, Congress can pass it again.”
“’Sunset’ is inside-the-Beltway lingo. The Congressional Research Service offers this definition: ‘The sunset concept provides for programs and agencies to terminate automatically on a periodic basis unless explicitly renewed by law,'” Kessler explained.
Neither Social Security or Medicare were specifically mentioned.
Finally, he wrote slapped Murray with “four Pinocchios” as he wrote, “Murray would have been on more solid ground if she had cited Scott or Johnson by name and described their proposals, as Biden has done in campaign speeches. Instead, she condemns the whole caucus.
“This is yet another example in which Democrats strain to conjure up a nonexistent GOP plan regarding Social Security and Medicare,” Kessler concluded.