- Analysis from the Congressional Budget Office shows Republicans will have no choice but to cut Medicaid in order to fund President Trump’s policy priorities. The CBO showed funds available to be cut only amount to one-sixth of what Republicans need.
- Republicans want to cut $880 billion from the Energy and Commerce Committee’s jurisdiction, but only $135 billion can be cut without slashing Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
- Republicans say they will not cut benefits, but will look for waste fraud and abuse. Democrats say the new analysis proves that statement is a lie.
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House Republicans will have no choice but to cut Medicaid in order to fund President Trump’s immigration, tax and policy priorities, according to the Congressional Budget Office. New analysis shows the funds available to be cut only amount to about one-sixth of what Republicans need.
The House budget resolution, approved Feb. 25, requires the Energy and Commerce Committee to find $880 billion in budget cuts for fiscal years 2025 through 2034. Over that time period, the budget office determined that when taking Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program out of the equation, the committee only has only $135 billion to work with.
The committee is responsible for $8.2 trillion in Medicaid spending over the next decade.
The analysis was done at the request of Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., the ranking members of the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Budget Committee.
“The reality is the only way Republicans can cut at least $880 billion within the Energy and Commerce Committee’s jurisdiction is by making deep, harmful cuts to Americans’ health care,” Pallone said in a statement. “Republicans know their spin is a lie, and the truth is they have no problem taking health care away from millions of Americans so that the rich can get richer and pay less in taxes than they already do.”
The Congressional Budget Office is a nonpartisan research department that Congress created to help make informed budget policy decisions.
“This is a complete betrayal of the middle class, and Democrats will keep fighting to stop them. The American people deserve to know just how much pain Republicans are willing to inflict on their own constituents to reward their billionaire donors,” Boyle stated.
Republican leaders say they will not cut benefits, but will look to cut waste fraud and abuse.
“Go do a word search of the budget resolution that we passed on Tuesday. There is not one mention of Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security. It’s not in the bill because we haven’t set the policy,” Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said on “Meet the Press” Sunday. “What we’re trying to do is get America back on sound fiscal ground.”
Even if Republican leadership tries to cut Medicaid benefits, it’s not clear rank and file members would let them. Republican lawmakers in states and districts with many Medicaid recipients are saying publicly and repeatedly that they will not support that.
“Anything that slashes into benefits for people who are working I’m not gonna be for it. I think that’s probably true to a lot of my colleagues,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo said.
In a Congress with tight margins, individuals have a lot of power when they threaten not to vote for a bill unless something they want is either added or removed. More than enough members to sink the bill have already said they’d use their leverage.
