Republicans Dispute Biden’s Claim That Some Pushed To ‘Sunset’ Medicare

ABC News: Biden Tangles With Republicans On Social Security And Medicare To Heckles Of 'Liar' 
For much of the night, President Biden was on the offensive. One of the night's more contentious moments came when Biden was discussing the debt ceiling and the White House's disagreements with Republicans on government borrowing and spending. "Some Republicans -- some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to sunset,” Biden said as he pledged to prevent Republicans from cutting Social Security and Medicare. “I'm not saying it's the majority. If Congress doesn't keep the programs where they are they go well, the Republicans say I'm not saying there's a majority of you. I don't even think it's even significant.” Although Biden noted that he wasn’t saying the “majority” of Republicans wanted to do so, he was immediately showered with boos from the other side of the aisle. Then it got particularly intense. (Haworth, 2/8)

PBS NewsHour: ‘We All Apparently Agree’ On Saving Medicare And Social Security, Biden Teases During State Of The Union 
He said in his Tuesday State of the Union address that he was glad to see their response, adding, “I enjoy conversion.” “As we all apparently agree, Social Security and Medicare is off the books now, right?” Biden said, saying he would stop any effort to cut the social safety nets. He also offered to sit down with Republicans to discuss their mutual fiscal plans. “We’ll pay for it the way we talked about: by making sure the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share,” Biden said. (Grabenstein, 2/7)

Fox News: Republicans Blast Biden For 'Lying Shamelessly' About Social Security, Medicare During State Of The Union 
GOP lawmakers are furious with the president, who accused them of wanting to hold the economy "hostage" and sunset Social Security and Medicare. ... "The President has devolved into just lying shamelessly about GOP positions to frighten seniors citizens into voting for him," Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, tweeted from his personal account. (Pandolfo, 2/8)

USA Today: Greene, Republicans Spar With Biden Over Social Security, Medicare
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., stood up from her seat in the back of the House chamber to heckle President Joe Biden after he said during his State of the Union address Tuesday that “some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to sunset” while discussing the need to raise the debt ceiling in order to avoid a US default. “Liar!” she said. Other lawmakers in the chamber booed him. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, seated behind Biden, shook his head in disapproval. The president leaned over the podium and began to go off script. "Anybody who doubts it, contact my office," Biden said. "I'll give you a copy of the proposal." (Mansfield and Woodall, 2/7)

The Washington Post: Fact-Checking President Biden’s 2023 State Of The Union Address
Biden's quote: “Some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to sunset. I’m not saying it’s a majority. … Anybody who doubts it, contact my office. I’ll give you a copy.” Fact-check: Not even the person who wrote the plan that Biden referenced says he supports a “sunset” of the old-age programs. “Sunset” is inside-the-Beltway lingo for programs terminating automatically on a periodic basis unless explicitly renewed by law. (Kessler, 2/7)

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The Washington Post: 3 Takeaways From Biden's State Of The Union Address 
It’s been 14 years since a Republican member of Congress appeared to cross a threshold by yelling “You lie” at Barack Obama during a speech to a joint session of Congress. Tuesday’s speech marked the continued trend toward partisan raucousness during what was once a much more staid affair. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), perhaps predictably, repeated Rep. Joe Wilson’s (R-S.C.) outburst from 2009 when Biden brought up Medicare and Social Security. ... When Biden brought up fentanyl deaths, he was met with a response of: “It’s your fault!” (Blake, 2/7)

The Hill: Gallego Accuses Sinema Of Not Applauding Biden’s Call To Negotiate Medicare 
Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) accused Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) of not applauding President Biden during the State of the Union address when he called for negotiating decreased Medicare drug prices for seniors. “Arizonans elected Senator Sinema to lower prescription drug costs and ensure access to healthcare for all. She abandoned us the second she got to the Senate to do Big Pharma’s bidding and now she’s rubbing it in our faces,” Gallego said in a release moments after Biden stepped down from the podium on Tuesday. (Mueller, 2/7)

Stat: A Biotech Investor On What Changed After Medicare Negotiation Law
Biotech investors don’t often publicly lay out their strategies, but an executive with a top investment firm on Tuesday offered a rare glimpse into the math he and others like him are doing after Democrats empowered Medicare to negotiate drug prices. (Cohrs, 2/7)

KHN: ‘We Ain’t Gonna Get It’: Why Bernie Sanders Says His ‘Medicare For All’ Dream Must Wait
After railing at the injustices of U.S. health care for decades, Sen. Bernie Sanders in January became the new chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee. The job gives the health care industry’s biggest Washington nemesis an unprecedented opportunity to shape health care reform in Congress. But the sort of radical changes he seeks could prove elusive. Even Sanders concedes there are limits to the powers of his position. President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address Tuesday night showed how much of Sanders’ platform has moved into the mainstream of the Democratic Party, with Biden at times sounding like his former Democratic primary foe, lashing out at Big Pharma and its “record profits.” Biden bragged about measures taken to lower drug prices and halt surprise bills during his term thus far, and he urged Congress to pass a federal expansion of Medicaid. (Allen, 2/8)