“Nearly 60% of mandatory spending is for Medicare and Social Security,” noted one expert. “If they don’t touch those, they’d have to cut Medicaid to the bone.”

With a potential government shutdown just hours away, House Republican leaders displayed a slide during a closed-door GOP conference meeting on Friday showing a draft agreement proposing $2.5 trillion in net mandatory spending cuts in exchange for raising the U.S. debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion at some point next year.

The slide was seen as further confirmation that Republicans are seriously eyeing cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and federal nutrition assistance—programs that fall under the mandatory spending category.

Jake Johnson December 20, 2024

Read the full article here Common Dreams

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