{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/reed-and-whitehouse-urge-president-elect-to-live-up-to-campaign-promises-clarify-whether-he-opposes-cuts-to-medicare-and-medicaid", "Reed and Whitehouse Urge President-Elect to Live Up to Campaign Promises, Clarify Whether He Opposes Cuts to Medicare and Medicaid", "2016-12-07", "2016", "2016-12", "Democrat", "House", "RI", "Sheldon Whitehouse", "W000802", "www.whitehouse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.07.16\n\t\t\t Reed and Whitehouse Urge President-Elect to Live Up to Campaign Promises, Clarify Whether He Opposes Cuts to Medicare and Medicaid \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWashington, D.C. \u2013 United States Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, along with 19 fellow senators, today sent a letter calling on President-elect Donald Trump to remind him of his campaign promises to reject cuts to Medicare and Medicaid and to ask that he clarify whether he still intends to do so.\u00a0 Over 200,000 Rhode Islanders were enrolled in Medicare and more than 283,000 state residents were enrolled in Medicaid as of July 2016.\r\n\u201cDuring your campaign for President of the United States, you differentiated yourself from your 16 primary opponents by noting that you were the only Republican who would protect Medicare and Medicaid,\u201d the senators wrote.\u00a0 \u201cAfter winning the election, you suddenly appear to be using language supporting policies that would gut the Medicare and Medicaid programs.\u201d\r\nThe letter continues, \u201cOver one hundred million Americans rely on these programs for health care.\u00a0 Low-income children and families and people with disabilities are the primary beneficiaries of Medicaid.\u00a0 Millions of seniors and individuals with disabilities have earned and rely on their Medicare benefits. \u00a0Medicaid is the only assistance available to millions of low and middle-income families who have a loved one requiring nursing home care.\u00a0 As you noted when you extolled their benefits on your campaign website, cutting these programs would be devastating.\u201d\r\nThe senators\u2019 letter draws attention to differences between the President-elect's statements during the campaign, which were highlighted on his campaign website, and statements that are now posted on his transition website.\u00a0 These new policy positions contradict President-elect Trump\u2019s promises as a candidate to protect Medicare and Medicaid, instead echoing Congressional Republicans\u2019 plans to cut these programs.\u00a0 The letter also notes that the President-elect\u2019s nominee to head the Department of Health and Human Services, Tom Price, has been a \u201cleading architect\u201d of such plans.\r\nThe senators pressed President-elect Trump to live up to his campaign promises and reject any cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. They wrote, \u201cWe ask that you rapidly and publicly clarify in plain language for the American public that you continue to stand behind your campaign promises; that you will not raise the Medicare eligibility age; that you will not privatize, voucherize, or otherwise cut Medicare benefits; and that you will not put in place changes to Medicaid that force enrollees\u2019 coverage to be dropped and benefits to be cut or limited.\u00a0 You promised Americans you would not cut Medicare or Medicaid \u2013 please tell Americans you will stand by your promise to them.\u201d\r\nThe letter was also signed by Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Robert P. Casey (D-Pa.), Al Franken (D-Minn.),\u00a0 Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii).\r\nRead a PDF copy of the letter here.\r\n###\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 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.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/reed-and-whitehouse-urge-president-elect-to-live-up-to-campaign-promises-clarify-whether-he-opposes-cuts-to-medicare-and-medicaid"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.9052219577133656, "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"}