House Dems eat cake in celebration of Medicare

Several House Democrats gathered to celebrate the 47th anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid with singing, speeches and cake.

The "birthday" celebration sought to highlight the programs' legacies and blast Republicans for their budget plan, which Democrats say would "end Medicare as we know it."

Lawmakers dropped in and out of the event, which concluded with a rendition of "Happy Birthday" around a large sheet cake.

Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) took the podium to joke about getting older, undergoing his first colonoscopy and getting on the AARP's mailing list.

"When it's a choice between Medicare and coupon care, I don't think there is any, any choice here. It is Medicare for all of us," he said.

He added that "after 47 years, we deserve to party a little."

"For those of us who have grown seeing our grandparents, our parents soon us benefit from having Americans invest in … our own healthcare — we should be fighting for that day and night.

"But before we have to fight any further, we're going to have some cake," he said.

Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), John Dingell (D-Mich.) and John Larson (D-Conn.), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, were present, along with other lawmakers.

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