HYGO News 'Write it down & take it home to mama', Dems blocked Kennedy bill to protect Medicare, debt limit
“Write It Down and Take It Home to Mama”: Democrats Block Kennedy Bill to Protect Medicare
On December 8, 2021, Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) took to the Senate floor to introduce the Protecting the American Taxpayer and Medicare Act, a bill that would shield Medicare and other mandatory spending programs from planned sequestrations without raising the federal debt limit. In his characteristic style, Kennedy delivered a colorful floor speech making the case for his legislation, declaring at one point: “And I want to make it very clear, and you can write this down and take it home to mama. I do not support cutting Medicare, and I do not support cutting farmers.” Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) blocked the bill’s passage, setting up a confrontation over whether Medicare protections should be tied to increasing the debt ceiling.
The Bill: Protecting Medicare Without Raising the Debt Ceiling
Kennedy’s legislation, designated S.3344, was designed to address a specific problem created by the intersection of the American Rescue Plan and the Budget Control Act of 2011. Under those laws, automatic spending cuts — known as sequestrations — were scheduled to take effect in 2022 that would hit both Medicare and agricultural programs.
The stakes were significant. Kennedy argued that unless Congress acted, Medicare would face $36 billion in cuts. Those cuts would include reductions to cancer treatments for elderly Americans and reduced laboratory fees and analysis that seniors depended on daily. Agricultural programs, particularly crop insurance on which American farmers relied, would also face cuts.
Kennedy’s solution was straightforward: pass a standalone bill that protected these programs from sequestration without also raising the debt ceiling. The approach was designed to separate the two issues that Democrats had attempted to link together.
“Americans depend on Medicare, especially while we’re still recovering from the pandemic. This bill would protect Medicare and other crucial programs from harmful cuts without enabling Pres. Biden’s Build Back Broker agenda,” Kennedy said. “If Democrats want to raise the debt ceiling to fund trillions of dollars in extra spending while inflation is ravaging American families, they can do it themselves.”
The bill attracted significant Republican support. Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Tim Scott (R-SC), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Rick Scott (R-FL), Josh Hawley (R-MO), John Boozman (R-AR), Roger Marshall (R-KS), John Hoeven (R-ND), and Marco Rubio (R-FL) all cosponsored the legislation.
Kennedy’s Floor Speech: “Heart Attack or Cancer”
Kennedy’s floor remarks combined his well-known folksy rhetoric with a sharp political argument. He framed the Democratic strategy as forcing Republicans into an impossible choice between their principles on the debt limit and their commitment to protecting seniors and farmers.
“A deal has been made to give us a choice between voting for a heart attack or cancer,” Kennedy told his colleagues. “You either have to give up your principles on the debt limit or you have to vote to cut Medicare and hurt our farmers. And no one wants to do that.”
Kennedy rejected the premise of that choice entirely. “And we’re going to be asked to give the American people either a heart attack or cancer. You’ve got to choose. And I don’t have to make that choice. And I’m not going to make that choice. And that’s why I brought this bill.”
He took aim at the broader political environment in Washington with a line that drew attention: “Americans may be poorer since President Biden took office, but they’re not stupid. They look around Washington, D.C., and they see liars, and they see frogs in every direction.”
Kennedy also touched on his own self-image within the institution, describing himself as “labor, not management” and acknowledging with self-deprecating humor that he does not always fit in. “It’s not one of my best qualities. In fact, it is my best quality,” he said.
Why Wyden Blocked the Bill
Senator Wyden’s objection prevented the bill from passing by unanimous consent, which would have required no senator to object. Democrats argued that the debt ceiling and Medicare protections were properly linked because both were fiscal issues that needed to be addressed together.
The Democratic position was that Republicans were attempting to separate the politically popular Medicare protections from the politically difficult debt ceiling increase. Democrats wanted Republicans to share responsibility for raising the debt ceiling rather than allowing them to vote for Medicare protections while forcing Democrats to raise the ceiling alone through the reconciliation process.
Kennedy countered that argument directly. He noted that Senate Democrats had the ability to address the debt ceiling themselves through reconciliation, a budget process that requires only a simple majority. His argument was that if he did not support the Build Back Better agenda, he should not be forced to vote for the borrowing authority needed to implement it.
“If I don’t support the Build Back Better bill, why would I want to allow them to borrow the money to implement the Build Back Better bill?” Kennedy asked. “I don’t. And I’m not going to break my word and vote to do that.”
Kennedy’s Broader Message on Keeping Promises
Throughout his remarks, Kennedy returned repeatedly to the theme of keeping promises to constituents. He framed his opposition to the debt ceiling increase not as a procedural maneuver but as a matter of personal integrity.
“I do support keeping my word to the American people. When I tell them I’m going to do something, by God I’m going to stick. And I’m not going to be scared away by some cynical deal that was made in Washington, D.C.”
He offered advice to colleagues who might be torn: “If I’m ever asked how to vote, I almost always say follow your heart, but just take your brain with you.”
Kennedy also delivered an emotional appeal on behalf of the two groups his bill was designed to protect. He described seniors as “part of the greatest generation” who “don’t deserve” cuts to their healthcare during a pandemic recovery. He called farmers “the backbone of America” and closed with a sweeping declaration: “America was born on a farm, and I think we ought to keep that in mind.”
The bill’s failure to pass by unanimous consent did not end the debate, but it put Democrats on record blocking a standalone measure to protect Medicare from cuts — a political position that Kennedy and his Republican colleagues would continue to highlight in the weeks ahead.
Key Takeaways
- Senator Kennedy introduced the Protecting the American Taxpayer and Medicare Act (S.3344) on December 8, 2021, to shield Medicare from $36 billion in scheduled cuts and protect crop insurance programs without raising the federal debt limit, backed by 11 Republican cosponsors.
- Senator Wyden (D-OR) blocked the bill, with Democrats arguing that Medicare protections and debt ceiling increases should be addressed together rather than separated.
- Kennedy accused Democrats of forcing a false choice between “a heart attack or cancer,” declaring that “Americans may be poorer since President Biden took office, but they’re not stupid” and that he would not “break my word” by voting for borrowing authority to fund the Build Back Better agenda.