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Despite Rhetoric, David Vitter is No Friend of Medicare
Monday, September 14, 2009
Despite recent comments in support of Medicare,
David Vitter has repeatedly voted to cut
billions of dollars from the popular health
care program for seniors.
Last week, the
Times-Picayune
noted that Vitter implied he was opposed to
cutting Medicare at a recent campaign event.
Vitter also signed a letter to Senate
leadership saying that protecting Medicare
should be a priority in the current debate over
health insurance reform.
"We would like
to think that David Vitter has simply come to
the honest recognition that his long-time
opposition to Medicare has been a mistake,"
said Louisiana Democratic Party Spokesman Kevin
Franck. "Unfortunately we can't trust David
Vitter on Medicare because he has voted to
slash the program time and again."
The
Louisiana Democratic Party points to a laundry
list of votes Vitter has taken to cut billions
of dollars from Medicare and Medicaid as a
member of the U.S. Senate. In 2005, for
instance, Vitter cast the deciding vote for a
budget that contained $6.4 billion in Medicare
cuts. With that vote, Vitter also increased
Medicare beneficiaries' premiums for coverage
of doctor visits.
Franck said Vitter's
recent token support of Medicare is part of a
pattern of the Senator's political opportunism
and hypocrisy.
"When he wants their
votes, David Vitter tells fiscal conservatives
that he's against government spending, he tells
those who support family values that
politicians should lead moral lives and he
tells seniors that he'll protect Medicare,"
Franck said. "But once he gets back to
Washington, he goes right back to his old ways,
loading up bills with pork-barrel earmarks,
admitting 'serious sins,' and voting to cut
billions from Medicare."
In 2006, Vitter Voted to Force Medicaid and Medicare Cuts. In 2006, Vitter joined with Senate Republicans who unsuccessfully tried to cut $10 billion in mandatory spending from the FY07 budget. The cuts would have come from the Senate Finance Committee, which had jurisdiction over both Medicare and Medicaid. [Vote 62, 3/16/06]
Vitter Voted For Budget Resolution That Cut Medicare by $6.4 Billion and Medicaid by $4.8 Billion. In December 2005, Vitter cast the deciding vote for a budget reconciliation that contained several deep program cuts. The bill cut Medicare by $6.4 billion, and increased Medicare beneficiaries' premiums for coverage of doctor visits. The bill also cut Medicaid by $4.8 billion, reducing payments for prescription drugs and tightening rules for funds that could be used for nursing home eligibility and allowed states to reduce benefits and increase co-payments paid by beneficiaries. [Vote 363, 12/21/05; Boston Globe, 12/22/05]
Vitter Voted for $10 Billion in Medicaid Cuts. In April 2005, Vitter voted to adopt the conference report on the concurrent resolution that set broad spending and revenue targets for five years, limited discretionary spending to $843 billion in fiscal 2006, and provide instructions for reconciliation bills that would achieve $70 billion in tax cuts and $34.7 billion in savings to mandatory programs, including $10 billion in Medicaid cuts. [Vote 114, 4/28/05]
- Vitter: Bush's $2 Trillion Budget With Medicaid Cuts Is "Responsible." In 2005, Vitter praised President Bush's $2 trillion federal budget, which included a $10 billion reduction in spending over five years to the Medicaid program for the poor and a $3 billion slice in farm programs. Vitter said, "It's a challenge to the state, but we also have a challenge nationally. We can't sustain the rate of Medicaid growth." [The Advocate, 4/30/05]
- Vitter: Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security Costs Can't Be Sustained. In 2005, Vitter supported President Bush's proposed federal budget which included Medicaid cuts. Vitter said, "We must reform Medicaid, along with Medicare and Social Security," he said. "The present systems, with their out-of-control spending increases, cannot be sustained." [Time-Picayune, 3/18/05]
Vitter Voted to Cut Medicaid Funding by $14 Billion. In 2005, Vitter voted against an amendment to strip out reconciliation instructions to the Finance Committee to reduce its outlays by $15 billion over five years that would likely result in a cut of $14 billion to Medicaid. It also set up a reserve fund for the creation of a 23-member Bipartisan Medicaid Commission to study Medicaid before any cuts are made. [Vote 58, 3/17/05]
Paid for by the Louisiana Democratic Party, 701 Government Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70802. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.