As Medicare turns 45, embattled U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) and his fellow Washington Democrats marked the occasion by celebrating their costly and unpopular health care overhaul, which cuts the seniors’ health care program by more than $500 billion.

As The Hill notes today, “Democrats celebrated the 45th anniversary of Medicare becoming law by linking it to the healthcare reform President Obama signed into law earlier this year… Republicans pointed out the irony in tying Obama’s healthcare bill to Medicare, given that the health reform bill made billions in cuts to the program to help pay for Obama’s new system.”

Feingold and his fellow Washington Democrats packed more than $500 billion in Medicare cuts into their costly health care overhaul, a law that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported “would not enhance the ability of the government to pay for future Medicare benefits” – effectively transferring health spending from seniors to younger Americans.

Additionally, it has been noted that Feingold’s health care overhaul raises costs, opens the door to government rationing of health services, could cause millions of seniors to lose their coverage, and does nothing to address Medicare’s long-term solvency problems.

“As Wisconsin’s seniors and their families struggle to deal with rising health care costs, today’s Medicare anniversary serves as a reminder that Russ Feingold helped gut this critical program by more than $500 billion earlier this year.  While Feingold and his Washington cronies pop the champagne corks, the 18-year incumbent’s out-of-touch Washington agenda serves as yet another reminder for voters who will elect a Republican to the U.S. Senate this fall,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Chris Bond.

As a reminder, this week Feingold was caught falsely claiming at a campaign event that his health care bill “did not cut Medicare benefits.”