U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., held a press conference at Madison's Senior Center Wednesday to voice her opposition to House Republicans' proposal to privatize Medicare.
The House budget, which was proposed by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, passed April 15, with members voting along party lines. Even though the budget proposal aims to counter the $14 trillion national debt, the proposal's plans to change health-care access for seniors have proven controversial.
The budget proposal replaces the Medicare guarantee for seniors over 65 with a voucher system that seniors would have to use to buy their health insurance.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office reported that seniors would bear a greater burden of healthcare costs under the proposal. According to Baldwin, the health-care expenses for Medicare beneficiaries would rise from $5,538 to $12,513 per year by 2022.
Baldwin also criticized House Republicans for cutting Medicare funding to fix the deficit while maintaining tax cuts for the upper class. ""We're protecting all of these expenditures at the same time we're asking the middle class and seniors to sacrifice,"" Baldwin said.
Baldwin explained that two other budgets proposed by Democratic members of the House aimed to fix the deficit through shared sacrifice, proposals that would involve contributions from larger cross-sections of society.
""I will personally oppose any effort to break the promise that we have made to our nation's seniors. And I will continue to seek prudent, smart and responsible ways to reduce our federal deficit,"" Baldwin said.
Dane County Executive Joe Parisi joined Baldwin to speak out against Ryan's budget and Gov. Scott Walker's proposed changes to Wisconsin's SeniorCare.
Parisi argued that SeniorCare is a good state model for national prescription drug programs and is beneficial for seniors and taxpayers alike.
""The plans to undo both of these programs are shortsighted and unwise … We're national leaders and these programs simply should not be undone,"" Parisi said.
Baldwin encouraged constituents to talk to Wisconsin's U.S. Senators in order to stop the legislation as the Senate is expected to vote on the proposal soon.
""We do have to address the deficit. We do so by pulling together,"" Baldwin said.
