During a Fox News town hall yesterday, President Trump stated—yet again—that he would slash Medicare and Social Security if given a second term. With the future of Americans’ retirement benefits in limbo, the president’s remarks put a spotlight on Greg Gianforte’s own out-of-touch position on entitlement programs.
“Montana voters should be on high alert. Greg Gianforte is an out-of-state multi-millionaire who is all too willing to join Trump in slashing the benefits Montana seniors were promised after a lifetime of hard work,” said Katie Parrish, spokesperson at American Bridge. “Just look at his record in Congress: he’s voted to slash billions from Medicare that over 200,000 Montanans rely on.”
Background:
2015: Gianforte said seniors have an “obligation to work.” While speaking to the Montana Bible College, Greg Gianforte said: “There’s nothing in the Bible that talks about retirement…The example I think of is Noah. How old was Noah when he built the ark? 600. He wasn’t like, cashing Social Security checks, he wasn’t hanging out, he was working. So, I think we have an obligation to work. The role we have in work may change over time, but the concept of retirement is not biblical.”
2017: Gianforte voted for the GOP’s FY 2018 budget resolution, which called for cutting Medicare by $473 billion. In October 2017, Gianforte voted for a budget resolution that, “proposes $473 billion in cuts to Medicare’s baseline spending over a decade and about $1 trillion from Medicaid, though those provisions are not enforceable without additional legislation.” The vote was on a motion to concur in the Senate amendment. The House agreed to the motion, thereby agreeing to the budget by a vote of 216 to 212. [House Vote 589, 10/26/17; The Hill, 10/19/17; Congressional Actions, H. Con. Res. 71]
2017: Gianforte voted for the GOP’s FY 2018 budget resolution, also called for $1.5 trillion in health care cuts, including Medicare. In October 2017, Gianforte voted for the House GOP FY 2018 budget resolution that, “would propose reducing spending on mandatory programs such as Medicare and Medicaid and changing programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (also known as food stamps). It would call for restructuring Medicare into a ‘premium support’ system beginning in 2024. [House Vote 557, 10/5/17; Congressional Quarterly, 10/5/17; Congressional Actions, H. Con. Res. 71]
Published: Mar 6, 2020 | Last Modified: Jul 22, 2020