The Senate voted Tuesday to reject an effort by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to shield entitlements such as Social Security from budget cuts.
Sanders’ proposal went down in a 49-49 vote. His proposal was in the form of an amendment to a budget resolution that’s intended to start the process of repealing Obamacare.
The amendment from the Vermont senator would have prevented cuts to Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid. It is the latest in a series of amendments to the resolution that the Senate will consider this week.
Sanders said President-elect Trump repeatedly promised on the campaign trail to protect Medicare and Medicaid from any cuts, and that his amendment was aimed at making sure those promises are kept.
“We stand with him and we are going to support him and there are no cuts to Medicare or Medicaid,” Sanders said, referring to the president-elect.
Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., said the amendment wasn’t germane to the budget resolution.
The resolution directs committees to draft Obamacare repeal legislation by Jan. 27. The repeal legislation would use the procedural move called reconciliation, which enables bills be approved via a simple 51-vote majority rather than the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster.
This is the latest amendment from Democrats aimed at protecting entitlements. The Senate rejected another amendment led by Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, that would have forced Republicans to get 60 votes for any legislation that would cut Medicare and Medicaid.
