Following is the statement from Brandon Lorenz of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee on today’s debate in Illinois’ 12th Congressional District:
“Tonight Southern Illinois voters saw firsthand just how badly Meltdown Mike Bost has lost his grip on reality after nearly 20 years in Springfield, when they witnessed Bost bizarrely try to deny support for a budget that he has put in his own campaign materials. The simple fact is that not only did Meltdown Mike Bost support raising seniors’ Medicare costs, but he also skipped the first debate to campaign with Paul Ryan, who wrote that very plan.”
BACKGROUND:
Bost Criticized Congressman Enyart for Opposing the Ryan Budget. In June 2014, the Bost for Congress campaign released a piece of literature hitting Congressman Bill Enyart for his oppositionto H Con Res 96, Congressman Paul Ryan’s budget. [H Con Res 96, Vote #177, 4/10/14; Mike Bost Facebook, 6/2/14]
- Republicans Budget Proposal Would “Reduce Taxes for the Wealthy.” “House Republicans will revive Rep. Paul Ryan’s lightning-rod proposals to slash the federal safety net, beef up military spending and reduce taxes for the wealthy in a budget unveiled Tuesday — an election-year calling card that Democrats are poised to use against the GOP.” [Los Angeles Times, 4/01/14]
- Republican Voucher Plan Would Increase Medicare Premiums for Seniors by 50 Percent. “While Rep. Ryan uses a different formula than in past budgets to set the value of the voucher, it would still make traditional Medicare increasingly unaffordable for senior citizens. Higher out-of-pocket premiums for traditional Medicare would force seniors into private plans, where they may not have access to the doctors they want to see. The Congressional Budget Office, or CBO, previously found that under a premium support plan, premiums would increase by 50 percent for traditional Medicare.” [Center for American Progress, 4/01/14]
- Reopening Prescription Drug Doughnut Hole Could Cost Seniors Up to $1,700. “Here’s how the gap works: Medicare covers prescription drug costs, minus a deductible and co-pays, until total costs reach $2,850 for the year for a beneficiary, in 2014. A beneficiary would then have to pay the full drug costs out of pocket until total out-of-pocket expenses reach $4,550. At that point, a senior’s drug costs are again covered, minus a 5 percent co-pay. The full cost of this gap in coverage for a beneficiary would be $1,700, the figure the ad uses […]And by 2020 that gap in drug coverage could be wider than $1,700, if the ACA provision were to be repealed. The Department of Health and Human Services estimated in a 2012 report that beneficiaries who reached the doughnut hole would save an average of $1,734 in 2020 and $1,969 in 2022 due to the closing of that coverage gap.” [FactCheck.org, 4/17/14]
- Bost Declined to Attend the AARP Debate. In 2014, the Belleville News-Democrat reported: “AARP communications director Gerardo Cardenas said the AARP is not a special interest group. AARP and the Illinois Radio Network invited Enyart and Bost to debate in October. Bost declined and Enyart was cooperative, Cardenas said.” [Belleville News-Democrat, 9/25/14]
- Bost was Accused of Calling the AARP a “Special Interest Group.” In 2014, the Belleville News-Democrat reported that Bost’s campaign did not respond to the accusation that he called the AARP a “special interest group.” [Belleville News-Democrat, 9/25/14]