A new ad by the Senate Majority PAC says U.S. Rep. Ted Budd "voted to cut Medicare and Social Security and voted to raise the retirement age too." PolitiFact checks the claim.

A top Democratic political group says a Republican U.S. Senate candidate could leave voters working more and earning less.

“You already know Ted Budd’s family company screwed over North Carolina farmers. And Budd cosponsored a national abortion ban so out of the mainstream, it includes no exceptions for victims of rape or incest. And now this: Ted Budd voted to cut Medicare and Social Security and voted to raise the retirement age too—which means if Ted Budd becomes our senator, you will be working more and earning less.”

“It looks like the RSC 2017 budget does change Social Security and Medicare, though it comes down to what we mean by ‘cutting’ those programs,” said Garrett Watson, senior policy analyst and modeling manager at the Tax Foundation.

“For example, Social Security reform would ‘slow initial benefit growth for higher-earners,’” and do the other things highlighted by the Committee for a Responsible Budget,” Watson said. “That generates savings in the future but isn’t a cut to benefits today.”

As for Medicare, the Committee for a Responsible Budget said the RSC’s proposed 2017 budget would have reduced Medicare spending by nearly $900 billion over a decade by converting Medicare to a premium support system for new beneficiaries, increasing means testing, and aligning the program’s eligibility age with the Social Security normal retirement age.

The bill itself did not cut Medicare. It staved off cuts to Medicare that would have happened automatically without congressional action.

And it’s important to note: that’s not all the bill did. The bill and its construction were controversial in part because Democrats tied the Medicare parts to legislation that raised the federal government’s debt limit by $2.5 trillion.

The Budd campaign says the Senate Majority PAC’s accusations about Social Security are inaccurate partly because their on-screen citation is misleading. The ad cites an Oct. 5, 2017 vote on “H. Con. Res. 71” — the budget resolution — while their accusation is based on an amendment proposal to that budget.

In an email, Budd campaign adviser Jonathan Felts described the ad as desperate. “It's been five years since this bill and no cuts have been made,” he said. “They are trying to find loopholes to hit Ted on because they have nothing.”

The Senate Majority PAC says “Ted Budd voted to cut Medicare and Social Security and voted to raise the retirement age, too.”

Budd supported a proposal that would have retooled Social Security and, years from its implementation, would have provided some Americans with fewer benefits than recipients are currently offered. He also voted against a bill that protected Medicare from scheduled cuts.

However, the ad ignores that the proposed Social Security changes were not immediate. It also overlooks key details of Budd’s vote last December: he voted against a bill that raised the debt ceiling and staved off cuts to Medicare.

The statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details or takes things out of context. We rate it Half True.

Copyright 2022 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.