Editor, Gazette-Journal:
Congressman Wittman’s press office release of May 22 listed so many things, it’s hard to know where to start. Perhaps he was too busy to read the cost estimate ordered by the House Committee of the Budget from the Congressional Budget Office that was sent on May 20, before he voted YES on HB 1.
The estimate addresses the sequestration that is required by law to occur. HB 1 will trigger sequestration because this bill will raise deficits by $2.3 trillion over 10 years. Budgetary spending must be cut by $230 billion in 2026 in addition to the tax cuts in this bill. Medicare is not exempt from sequestration. The continuation of the corporate tax cuts Wittman voted for will require Medicare to be cut. OMB estimates $45 billion cut from Medicare at first, increasing every year up to $75 billion in 2034.
Wittman voted to cut Medicare as our aging population continues to rise. As of 2023, 27 percent of his constituents were over the age of 60, with another 13 percent ...