Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida has revised his much-maligned proposal to sunset all federal programs in five years, after absorbing weeks of criticism from Democrats and even his own party, by adding an exemption for Medicare and Social Security.
The updated version of Scott’s “Rescue America” plan now says: “All federal legislation sunsets in 5 years, with specific exceptions of Social Security, Medicare, national security, veterans benefits, and other essential services.”
The previous version of the proposal included no such exemption and instead declared: “If a law is worth keeping, Congress can pass it again.”
Democrats and Republicans had pointed out that such a provision could have endangered the popular entitlement programs. President Joe Biden seized on the proposal in his State of the Union address earlier this month and attempted to tie Republicans to Scott’s idea, leading to an animated back-and-forth with GOP lawmakers during his speech.
Biden in Florida last week continued to hammer Scott, telling supporters, “The very idea the senator from Florida wants to put Social Security and Medicare on the chopping block every five years I find to be somewhat outrageous.”
The criticism of Scott’s plan wasn’t limited to Democrats. Last week, Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell told a Kentucky radio station that the Florida senator’s proposal was “just a bad idea.”
“I think it will be a challenge for him to deal with this in his own reelection in Florida, a state with more elderly people than any other state in America,” McConnell said.
Scott has stumbled to defend his proposal, repeatedly claiming that Biden and Democrats have misrepresented his plan. His revised Rescue America blueprint included a shot at Biden, McConnell and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in bold typeface.
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