Politics

Nancy Pelosi: ‘You can kiss Medicare goodbye’

Amanda Carey Contributor
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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi held a mid-morning press conference Thursday, sharply denouncing Speaker John Boehner’s debt limit plan, which will come up for a vote later in the day.

If Boehner’s proposal becomes law, Pelosi said, “You can kiss Medicare goodbye.” (RELATED: New WH talking point — Boehner is the Grinch, and he’ll steal your Christmas)

The Minority Leader argued that Boehner’s proposal unfairly targets and undermines middle-class families. She also questioned Boehner’s reasons for previous attempts to negotiate a debt limit deal with President Obama, saying the leaders came to the table for different reasons.

“I believe the real reason they didn’t connect,” said Pelosi, “is because Republicans all along have used deficit reduction … as an excuse for the unraveling of the middle class over the last 50 years,” she added.

“We cannot come to an agreement on that hardship they want to place on the middle class,” Pelosi continued. “The vision that President Obama has for our country, I believe, is on the high ground.”

Specifically, she charged that Boehner’s plan puts education, retirement for seniors, and job creation in jeopardy. Pelosi also said the Boehner plan cannot pass both chambers of Congress, adding that leaders will need to go back to the negotiating table and achieve a compromise deal that is “truly about reducing the deficit and not undermining the middle class.”