President Joe Biden stumps for Rep. Lauren Underwood in Joliet, says Republicans pose threat to Social Security and Medicare

President Joe Biden stumped for suburban Democrats in Joliet on Saturday, part of a final weekend campaign visit to what has been a reliably blue state that underscored national Democratic concerns that Republican gains in several races could give the party control of Congress on Election Day.

In his last minute pitch that echoed his themes in stops that also included California, New York and Pennsylvania, Biden warned Republicans would try to cut Social Security and Medicare if they take over the House and Senate.

“These programs do something so basic, and yet so important,” he told about 300 people in the gymnasium of Jones Elementary School in Joliet. “After working hard for decades, people deserve to retire … with some dignity.”

Citing statements by Republican Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Biden said the GOP wants Social Security and Medicare to face reauthorization votes every five years, making the long-standing senior benefit programs perpetually vulnerable to elimination.

“It’s a rock solid guarantee and an ironclad commitment,” Biden said of Social Security. “Generations of Americans have counted on it for decades, and it works.”

House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy of California, who is poised to become House speaker if the GOP takes control, said during a campaign visit to Oak Brook on Friday that the party would not cut Social Security or Medicare if it wins majorities on Tuesday.

The president’s visit comes as national Republican and Democrat leaders flock to the Chicago area just days before the midterm election, fundraising and speaking on behalf of local candidates in tightening House races.

McCarthy spoke on behalf of Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau, the Republican seeking to oust Democratic U.S. Rep. Sean Casten in Illinois’ closely contested 6th District. Casten and Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin held a last minute campaign event down the hall in the same hotel as Pekau’s fundraiser.

Vice President Kamala Harris planned to campaign in Chicago Sunday alongside first-term Democrats Gov. J.B. Pritzker and U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, both of whom are seeking reelection.

Biden arrived in Chicago on Friday night and spoke at a fundraiser for Casten and Rep. Lauren Underwood of Naperville in Rosemont, and projected optimism about Tuesday’s election.

”Folks, I’m not buying the notion that we’re in trouble,” Biden said. ”I think we’re going to win. I really do.”

But he soon added: “If we lose the House and Senate it’s going to be a horrible two years. The good news is that I’ll have the veto pen.”

Biden’s effort on Saturday was aimed at bolstering Underwood, a two-term Democratic congresswoman.

“In just her first term in office, she got 10 pieces of legislation passed into law,” Biden said of Underwood, adding praise for her earlier career as a nurse.

Electing Democrats to the House would protect the Inflation Reduction Act, a big-spending bill that invested in sustainable energy infrastructure and manufacturing and increased taxes on corporations, Biden said.

Underwood spoke before Biden and U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, praising the Inflation Reduction Act and criticizing Republicans over the same senior benefit issues Biden addressed.

“They don’t have a serious plan to lower health costs, or fight inflation, or stop price gouging at the gas pump or the grocery store,” she said.

Republicans have argued that the Inflation Reduction Act contributes to inflation by overspending and have called repealing the legislation a priority. But Biden argued the act will soon lower health care costs by allowing Medicare to negotiate for cheaper drug prices with pharmaceutical companies and capping the price of insulin.

“For years Big Pharma had blocked us from being able to negotiate,” Biden said. “Not this year. We finally beat Big Pharma.”

With Democrats battling the headwinds of an inflationary economy, Biden contended the cost of living for Americans would increase if Republicans are elected because social benefit plans that financially support people would be cut and corporations would be given tax cuts.

Outside the event, protesters waved flags that heralded former President Donald Trump and used expletives to deride Biden. The president, in pledging unyielding support for Social Security and Medicare, noted their presence during his remarks.

“I love those signs when I came in — ‘socialism.’ Give me a break. What idiots,” Biden said.

Scott Gryder of Oswego, Underwood’s Republican challenger, criticized the president’s comment as “offensive.” He had visited with the protesters and also held a separate rally at a nearby home, he said.

“When the president of the United States gets into name calling, that’s when we’ve really sunk to a new level,” said Gryder, who chairs the Kendall County Board. “People are frustrated because Washington’s not listening, and that’s why we’re surging right now.”

Gryder said if elected, he would push for less government spending, but not for cutting Social Security or Medicare.

jsheridan@chicagotribune.com