{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sanders-challenges-trump-to-reject-gop-plan-to-cut-social-security-medicare-medicaid", "Sanders Challenges Trump to Reject GOP Plan to Cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid", "2017-12-03", "2017", "2017-12", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Sanders Challenges Trump to Reject GOP Plan to Cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tSunday, December 3, 2017\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tREADING, Penn., Dec. 3 \u2013 At a rally here Sunday against the Republican tax bill, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) challenged President Donald Trump to keep his word to protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.\r\n\u201cMr. President, you told the American people time and time again you were not going to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Today, get on the phone. Tell Paul Ryan, tell Mitch McConnell that you will veto any bill that cuts Social Security, that cuts Medicare, that cuts Medicaid,\u201d Sanders said.\r\nTrump said repeatedly during the campaign that he would not cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.\u00a0\r\nIn March 2016, then-candidate Trump said that unlike House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) he would protect the programs.\r\n\u201cYou know, Paul [Ryan] wants to knock out Social Security, knock it down, way down. He wants to knock Medicare way down,\u201d Trump told WROK radio in Wisconsin. \u201cI\u2019m not going to cut it, and I\u2019m not going to raise ages, and I\u2019m not going to do all of the things that they want to do. But they want to really cut it, and they want to cut it very substantially, the Republicans, and I\u2019m not going to do that.\u201d\r\nIt is now becoming very clear that is exactly what Republicans intend to do. This week, a number of Republicans publicly said that they plan to cut \u201centitlement programs\u201d after passing their tax bill.\r\nAt a FOX News town hall this week, Ryan said, \u201cThere\u2019s two things you got to do to get this debt under control. Cut spending \u2013 most importantly reform entitlement programs \u2013 and grow the economy.\u201d\r\n\u201cMany argue that you can\u2019t cut taxes because it will drive up the deficit,\u201d U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) told business leaders. \u201cBut we have to do two things. We have to generate economic growth, which generates revenue, while reducing spending. That will mean instituting structural changes to Social Security and Medicare for the future.\u201d\r\nAnd in an exchange with Sanders on the Senate floor before the tax bill passed, U.S. Sen Pat Toomey (R-Penn.) refused to say that he would not support cutting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid \u2013\u00a0saying only that he would protect people currently on the programs.\r\nTo watch the rally, click here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sanders-challenges-trump-to-reject-gop-plan-to-cut-social-security-medicare-medicaid"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7906921673566103, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}