Rep. Braun has repeatedly made clear he supports cuts to programs older Hoosiers rely on

INDIANAPOLIS – Mitch McConnell made clear today he hopes to gut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid to deal with the rising deficits caused by his tax plan, and Rep. Braun – a major beneficiary of the plan – is ready to help him do so if elected.

During an interview with Bloomberg News today, McConnell blamed the rising deficit on an unwillingness in Congress to gut critical programs for Hoosier seniors like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. While he focuses on Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, non-partisan organizations have laid the deficit at the feet of McConnell’s tax bill, which he forced through the Senate late last year. The tax plan is expected to add roughly $1 trillion to the nation’s deficits over the next ten years, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.

If McConnell is serious about gutting Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security to pay for his tax plan, he’ll find he has an ally in Rep. Braun should he win in November. Rep. Braun has also made clear his desire to cut those programs, even though older Hoosiers have spent their entire working lives paying into them.

As far back as February’s Americans for Prosperity debate, Rep. Braun has been saying that cuts to Medicare and Social Security should be on the table, and repeatedly called for “hard decisions” to be made around Social Security and Medicare. At an AARP tele-town hall in September, Rep. Braun didn’t back down from his previous statements, and for the first time expressed interest in curtailing benefits from Medicare and Social Security by raising the retirement age.

Rep. Braun has also been vocal about his support for the McConnell tax plan, which aside from exploding the deficit also gave massive tax breaks to large corporations and the wealthiest Americans like himself.

“Rep. Braun would march right in line with Mitch McConnell to gut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid in order to make Hoosiers seniors pay for the billions of dollars in tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans like himself,” said Michael Feldman, spokesman for the Indiana Democratic Party. “Hoosiers who have paid into Medicare and Social Security for their entire working lives are counting on those programs to be there for them, and they can’t trust Rep. Braun not to cut them to shreds in order to fatten his own wallet.”

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