Common Dreams – “House Republicans on [September 21, 2022] unveiled parts of a policy agenda that indicates the party would push for cuts to Social Security and Medicare if it retakes the majority in November. A one-page summary of the agenda that House Republicans, led by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), are expected to formally introduce Friday includes a highly misleading line that expresses the GOP’s commitment to “save and strengthen Social Security and Medicare.” “Democrats are fighting to expand Social Security, while Republicans want to cut, privatize, and destroy it behind closed doors.” Republicans frequently shroud their push for Social Security benefit cuts—and even full-scale privatization—in rhetoric aimed at convincing the public that the GOP is actually trying to rescue the beloved program from a dire financial crisis that analysts and advocates say doesn’t exist. “Republicans want to protect Social Security for current beneficiaries and future generations—and if possible save Social Security once and for all,” Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) declared in July.

More fleshed-out policy proposals recently released by House Republicans offer a closer look at what GOP lawmakers mean when they say they want to “save” Social Security. In June, the Republican Study Committee—a group made up of 158 of 212 House Republicans, including Brady—released a proposal that calls for gradually raising the retirement age to 70, partially privatizing Social Security, and mean-testing benefits…”