Senator Ron Johnson announced this week a plan in which he called for Social Security and Medicare to become a part of the discretionary budget process. On his website, Johnson calls it a “comprehensive plan for the future viability of the programs.’” The plan would require Social Security and Medicare to go through an annual review of funding levels.
Johnson himself acknowledged that the plan is unlikely to garner enough support from his Democratic colleagues to cross the sixty-vote threshold for passage, but says that the plan would allow “the American public [to] see who is obstructing a functional process.” Democrats have been quick to oppose the plan, stating that Senator Johnson is looking to eliminate or make large cuts to the two programs. Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesman Philip Shulman said that, “Ron Johnson has made clear yet again that he wants Congress to be able to cut Social Security and Medicare, programs that Wisconsinites have paid into for decades so they could retire without worrying about paying their bills.”
