Incoming Speaker Mike Johnson is An Enemy of Social Security

Today, House Republicans elected Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) as the new Speaker of the House. The following is a statement on Rep. Johnson from Alex Lawson, Executive Director of Social Security Works:

“Rep. Mike Johnson has a long history of hostility towards Social Security and Medicare. As Chair of the Republican Study Committee from 2019-2021, Johnson released budgets that included $2 trillion in cuts to Medicare and $750 billion in cuts to Social Security, including:

• Raising the retirement age
• Decimating middle class benefits
• Making annual cost-of-living increases smaller
• Moving towards privatization of Social Security and Medicare

Multimillionaire Johnson has also made the outrageous claim that forced births are necessary to fund Social Security. He would ban abortions and deny women their rights so that the ultra-wealthy don’t have to pay more into Social Security. In fact, we can afford to not just protect but expand Social Security by requiring wealthy people to pay into the program on all of their income.

Johnson recently joined the vast majority of House Republicans to vote for a commission designed to cut Social Security and Medicare behind closed doors. Now that Johnson is Speaker, he will do what the Republicans never stop doing — everything in their power to cut our Social Security and Medicare, by hook, crook, or commission.

The White House has rightfully referred to such a commission as a ‘death panel’ for Social Security and Medicare. Seniors and people with disabilities are counting on the Biden Administration, as well as Congressional Democrats, to stand united to protect our earned benefits. That means rejecting any commission proposal.”