Sen. Rick Scott Fights to Protect Benefits for Seniors, Reject Reckless Debt Limit Bailout

December 9, 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Rick Scott released the following statement ahead of the Senate’s consideration of legislation that would allow Democrats to lift the nation’s debt limit and push off self-induced cuts for Medicare that resulted from the passage of the Democrat’s reckless $1.9 TRILLION “COVID” bill. The legislation being considered today contains no reforms whatsoever to ensure Medicare’s long term solvency and allows even more reckless government spending by Congressional Democrats. Yesterday, Senator Scott joined his colleague, Senator John Kennedy, in introducing a clean bill to protect Medicare providers from spending cuts without helping Democrats increase the debt limit. Senate Democrats blocked its passage.

 

Senator Scott has been clear that he does not support any cuts to Medicare benefits, which this bill does not touch, and cannot support raising the debt limit without structural spending reforms that would ensure the protection and long-term solvency of important programs like Medicare.

 

Senator Rick Scott said, “I’ve never voted to raise the debt limit and I won't do it now. Democrats are intent on digging a deeper and deeper financial hole, spending trillions more that we don’t have on liberal priorities with no accountability to American taxpayers. I will never support cuts to Medicare benefits for our seniors and my vote today has no impact on benefits, but if we continue down this path of reckless spending and never-ending debt, that’s exactly what will happen. In typical Washington fashion, Democrats are again asking us to bail them out from the provider cuts that they caused, kick the can down the road and give them a pass for more reckless spending and more debt. It’s time for Congress to live within its means and balance the budget – like every family and business has to – and finally put our nation on a financially secure path.”

 

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