Democrats Assail Gop On Medicare Candidates Say Incumbents Want To Cut Program

The two Democrats who are running for Congress in Idaho say the Republican incumbents want to cut Medicare to give tax breaks to the wealthy.

Tuesday was the 31st anniversary of the Medicare program. At a Boise news conference, Democratic challenger John Seidl said Medicare has done more to bring the elderly out of poverty than any other government program.

He’s running against Rep. Michael Crapo. “In the name of tax breaks for the wealthy, Mike Crapo has voted to gut two of the most important parts of America’s social safety net,” Seidl said.

In Washington, Dan Williams joined other Democrats at the National Council of Senior Citizens with similar complaints.

“It’s time to come clean about the future of Medicare,” Williams said. “It’s time Newt Gingrich and Helen Chenoweth were honest about where their proposed $270 billion in cuts would come from.”

Republicans say their Medicare program doesn’t cut anything, but rather slows the rate of increase in the cost of the program.

Williams said the GOP plan means less money for seniors.

“If a senior is getting $1,700 less than they would have if Congress left it alone, that looks like a cut, and sounds like a cut and hurts like a cut,” he said.

Chenoweth campaign press secretary Jim Gambrell said Republicans simply are trying to slow the growth in the cost of Medicaid, not eliminate its benefits. He said Chenoweth’s goal was “to save us from bankruptcy, strengthen it for future generations and to simplify it, making it easier for people with existing Medicare needs.”

Will Hollier, Crapo’s campaign manager, said Seidl’s statements were “total distortion” and Democrats should read the GOP proposal. He said Crapo is working to give states more control over Medicare and Medicaid.

A cornerstone of the Republicans’ tax package grants a $500 per child tax credit to families, he said.