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March 15, 2011 at 08:00 PM
The Obama administration is fighting back against the latest budget proposal by the Republican-led House by alerting seniors that their Medicare and Social Security payments may be at risk. This represents the White House’s strongest stance yet in the budget stalemate, which again threatens to shut down the federal government.
The administration’s attempt to alarm seniors about the additional $57 billion in proposed cuts this year may not pay dividends, however, as a number of polls show an angry populace would place the blame for a shutdown nearly equally on the Obama administration and House Republicans.
Neither of the two sides was able to win over the Senate to its point of view, so the parties have been forced back to the negotiating table. So far in the debate, more Democrats have switched sides than have Republicans, meaning that the GOP may hold the advantage going forward.
The administration’s alert to seniors came from Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who said Republican efforts to starve the health care reform law of funds would prevent Medicare Advantage payments and force a months-long rewriting of MA reimbursement rates.
