On the anniversary of Rick Scott’s 12-point plan to sunset Social Security and Medicare, DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, DSCC Chair Sen. Gary Peters, and DCCC Chair Rep. Suzan DelBene issued the following joint statement:

“On this anniversary, we are reminded that Social Security and Medicare remain under constant assault from Donald Trump and Republican candidates up and down the ballot. In November, voters will hold every Republican candidate accountable for their party’s agenda to gut these vital programs that millions of Americans rely on – spiking health care costs and ripping away the benefits hardworking Americans have earned throughout their lifetimes.”

Rick Scott unapologetically proposed an extreme plan to rip away essential benefits America’s seniors rely on by ending Social Security and Medicare as we know them. 

New York Magazine: “Senator Rick Scott has managed to tie himself and the Republican Party into knots thanks to an extremely ill-advised proposal he made last year to sunset all federal programs.”

Washington Post Opinion: “Scott’s [‘Rescue America’] plan would also sunset — eliminate — all federal legislation over five years, under the (risky) assumption that worthy laws would be reenacted. That could mean an end to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, everything else mentioned above — and potentially more.”

Scott: “In my plan, I suggested the following: All federal legislation sunsets in 5 yrs. If a law is worth keeping, Congress can pass it again.”

Scott, in response to backlash for his plan: “I’d like to apologize to absolutely nobody.”

Miami Herald Opinion: “Florida seniors at risk of losing Social Security, Medicare under Scott’s harmful plan”

Donald Trump said he would cut Social Security and Medicare in a second term in office – essential programs America’s seniors rely on.

National Review: “Speaking with CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump was asked whether he would cut entitlements at some point. ‘Will entitlements ever be on your plate?’ asked interviewer Joe Kernen. ‘At some point they will be,’ Trump responded. ‘At the right time, we will take a look at that. You know, that’s the easiest of all things [to cut].’”

CNN: “Trump now says he’s open to entitlement cuts, including Medicare”

Trump continued to admit throughout his 2020 campaign that he would pursue cuts to Medicare and Social Security programs if he were to have a second term in office – including threatening the programs’ financial standing by promising to permanently eliminate the taxes that fund both programs.

Mediaite: “During a Fox News town hall, President Donald Trump promised to cut entitlements like Medicare and Social Security if were to win a second term. … ‘But if you don’t cut something in entitlements, you will never really deal with the debt,’ town hall co-moderator Martha MacCallum interjected, alluding to social safety programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. ‘Oh, we’ll be cutting,’ Trump rushed to confirm.”

Washington Post: “President Trump pledged on Saturday to pursue a permanent cut to the payroll taxes that fund Social Security and Medicare if he wins reelection in November, a hard-to-accomplish political gambit that some experts see as a major headache for the future of the country’s entitlement programs.”

Trump: “If we win … the payroll tax will be rescinded.”

CNN: “Eliminating the payroll tax could deplete the Social Security trust fund within three years if there’s no alternative source of revenue, according to the agency’s chief actuary.”

Associated Press: “Trump, in effect, has proposed a dramatic restructuring of how Social Security is financed by not relying on the payroll tax as a dedicated source, but instead by tapping the general fund. … The risk is that the loss of a dedicated funding source could destabilize an anti-poverty program that provides payments to roughly 65 million Americans. It also could force people to cut back on the spending that drives growth so they can save for their own retirement and health care needs if they believe the government backstop is in jeopardy. … It is highly unlikely that economic growth would be enough to offset the loss of the payroll tax. Indeed, Trump suggested that his 2017 income tax cuts would propel economic growth as high as 6% annually. That never happened.”

Trump owns his extreme record of proposing cuts to Medicare and Social Security programs in EVERY SINGLE ONE of his budgets.

Washington Post: “His avowed stance, however, is at odds with Trump’s own record as president: Each of his White House budget proposals included cuts to Social Security and Medicare programs.”

Vox: “Trump said he wouldn’t cut Medicaid, Social Security, and Medicare. His 2020 budget cuts all 3.”

Trump’s FY18, FY19, FY20, and FY21 budgets each proposed billions of dollars in cuts to Social Security programs.

2019 and 2020: Trump proposed budgets that included hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts to Medicare.

Trump called to privatize Social Security and even praised plans to end Medicare as we know it.

CNN: “Trump previously backed policies on Social Security for which he’s now attacking DeSantis, calling the program a ‘Ponzi scheme’”

“Former President Donald Trump once backed raising the retirement age to 70 and called for privatizing Social Security which he called a ‘Ponzi scheme’ – two positions he has hammered Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for supporting as a former member of Congress and congressional candidate. … but a CNN KFile review found Trump himself also once praised Ryan on Medicare, along with the 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney, without praising their specific policy proposal, which called for similar changes to Ryan’s plan.”

Social Security remains under constant assault from Republican Senate candidates across the country.

American Journal News: “Top Republican U.S. Senate candidates call for gutting Social Security.”