Washington, D.C. – As Congressional Republicans push ahead with their plan to sacrifice millions of Americans’ health care and essential services to give tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy, there are a number of crucial questions they’ve refused to answer. This week, as both chambers prepare to advance their budget frameworks, will Congressional Republicans answer real questions about the impact of their tax agenda or will they continue to lie, spin, or avoid questions altogether, since they have no excuse for their plans to betray everyday Americans?
QUESTION 1 – If Senate Republicans aren’t planning to make massive cuts to Medicaid, why are they voting for a resolution that includes hundreds of billions in Medicaid cuts?
If Senate Republicans were serious about protecting Medicaid, they could strip out the provisions from the House budget resolution that instructs the House to cut hundreds of billions from Medicaid. They did not do that. Instead, their resolution INCLUDES the previously-passed House instructions, which will force hundreds of billions in cuts to Medicaid or Medicare according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
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Sen. Josh Hawley: told CNN he’s “not going to vote for Medicaid cuts,” adding “Anything that slashes into benefits for people who are working, I’m not going to be for, and I think that’s probably going to be true for a lot of my colleagues.”
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Sen. Lisa Murkowski: “I did not support Medicaid cuts then, and I will not support them now. I know what it would mean to Alaskans[.]”
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Sen. Susan Collins: “Medicaid is a critically important program for Maine’s health care system and a vital resource for many seniors, low-income families and disabled patients, as well as for the providers who care for them. I’m committed to protecting Mainers who need access to Medicaid[.]”
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Sen. Tommy Tuberville: “My state of Alabama, it would really decimate, you know – 3 out of 5 kids in our state are on Medicaid. It’ll be a tough situation. We’ve got to find our way around it.”
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Sen. John Boozeman: Boozman told The Hill that Medicaid cuts “sure would” impact constituents in Arkansas.
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Sen. Jim Justice: “From the standpoint of Medicaid, West Virginia, you know, has a gigantic participation and really and truly, we have concerns, and we’re going to have to watch as this thing filters all the way through and everything[.]”
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Sen. Thom Tillis: “If you just do it cold turkey, there’s going to be a lot of unintended consequences that our members need to think through, whether it’s a red state or blue state.”
QUESTION 2 – How can House Republicans who oppose Medicaid cuts vote for this framework a second time, especially after the CBO has since confirmed that it will force hundreds of billions in cuts to Medicaid or Medicare?
Countless Republicans voted for the House budget proposal in February relying on empty promises and spin about not cutting Medicaid – all of which have since been disproven by the CBO’s report confirming that the proposal will force massive cuts to Medicaid or Medicare. Will those Republicans vote AGAIN to cut Medicaid, despite vocal opposition from their constituents and the proof that their plan guts the program?
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Rep. Hal Rogers: “Across my 33 counties in southern and eastern Kentucky, approximately half of my constituents receive Medicaid benefits. I have no intention of gutting Medicaid, Medicare or Social Security.”
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Rep. Derrick Van Orden: “Millions of Americans depend on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, and I will have no part in cutting these programs for the folks that are legally entitled to them.”
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Rep. Rob Bresnahan Jr.: “If a bill is put in front of me that guts the benefits my neighbors rely on, I will not vote for it.”
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Rep. Jeff Van Drew: “Medicaid isn’t just something for people who don’t want to work or on welfare. Seventy-million people in this country get their health care through Medicaid now” and: “I don’t want to take away people’s health care.”
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Rep. Mike Lawler: “Congressman Lawler opposes any cuts to Social Security and Medicare, and will ensure Medicaid benefits are protected for those who need and rely on this critical program, especially our seniors and those who are intellectually, developmentally, or physically disabled. Congressman Lawler will continue to fight back against any effort to cut these critical services.”
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Rep. David Valadao: “I’ve heard from countless constituents who tell me the only way they can afford health care is through programs like Medicaid. And I will not support a final reconciliation bill that risks leaving them behind.”
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Joint Letter from 8 House Republicans: “The House Budget Resolution proposed $880 billion in cuts to programs under the jurisdiction of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, with Medicaid expected to bear the brunt of these reductions. Nearly 30% of Medicaid enrollees are Hispanic Americans, and for many families across the country, Medicaid is their only access to healthcare. Slashing Medicaid would have serious consequences, particularly in rural and predominantly Hispanic communities where hospitals and nursing homes are already struggling to keep their doors open.”
QUESTION 3 – Will Republicans in Congress who previously opposed the use of a current policy baseline reverse their long-held views by supporting bogus math tricks that will cause the deficit and debt to skyrocket?
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Rep. Chip Roy: “This is fairy dust, and they’re full of crap. And I’m gonna call them out on it.”
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Rep. Dave Schweikert: “It’s intellectually a fraud. It is an intellectual fraud to say, ‘Let’s ignore the actual law and let’s just keep doing what we’re doing because it’s convenient.’”
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Rep. Greg Murphy: “I don’t agree with this – this being current policy baseline. I don’t think that’s being fiscally responsible.”
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Rep. Tom McClintock: “I am very skeptical of any accounting gimmickry that reduces pressure to reduce … spending.”
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Rep. Thomas Massie: [When asked if he agrees with the current policy baseline] “No, not really, no. This would be the first time Congress has ever thought that way.”
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Rep. Jason Smith: “There’s members of my conference that believe what the Senate is trying to do with the current policy baseline is a budget gimmick just so they don’t have to do spending cuts.”
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Sen. Bill Cassidy: “But using ‘current policy’ as the baseline instructs the Congressional Budget Office to ignore the $4.7 trillion price tag of extending the tax cuts unchanged. With the federal debt already projected to rise by $21 trillion in the next decade, this extra burden — plus new spending proposals — would push total debt to $65 trillion.”
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Sen. Todd Young: “Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) added after the meeting that he still does not yet support using the current policy baseline to extend the tax cuts.”
QUESTION 4 – How can Republicans justify voting for these proposals, when a majority of Americans – including Trump voters – oppose their plan?
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82% of voters oppose cuts to Medicaid to fund the Republican tax agenda, including 71% of Trump voters.
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70% of voters oppose the proposed elements of the House Republican budget bill, including nearly half of Trump voters.
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Three in four Americans are concerned about Republicans’ plans to cut taxes for the ultra-wealthy by defunding critical programs.
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Republicans themselves have admitted that their plans are incredibly unpopular:
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White House Official: “If we renew tax cuts for the rich paid for by throwing people off Medicaid, we’re gonna get f–king slaughtered.”
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Steve Bannon: “Medicaid, you got to be careful, because a lot of MAGA’s on Medicaid. I’m telling you, if you don’t think so, you are deeeeeead wrong. Medicaid is going to be a complicated one. Just can’t take a meat ax to it[.]”
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Rep. Jeff Van Drew: “We are going to lose a great deal and have big problems if Medicaid isn’t taken care of.”
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QUESTION 5 – Will Republicans repeal job-creating tax credits that support their districts to pay for billionaire tax breaks?
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has created more than 400,000 new jobs, with more than half of those jobs coming in Republican-held Congressional districts. Unfortunately, Congressional Republicans are coming after the IRA, with countless Republicans demanding the repeal of the legislation to help pay for their billionaire-first tax agenda. Will the House and Senate Republicans defend their constituents and the good-paying jobs that were created in their districts, or will they vote for a budget framework that lays the groundwork to repeal the IRA and jeopardize thousands of American jobs?
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Joint Letter by 21 House Republicans: “We have 20-plus members saying, ‘Don’t just think you can repeal these things and have our support.’”
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Rep. Jen Kiggans: “America cannot afford to turn a blind eye to how existing clean energy tax credits are actively helping our Armed Forces, small businesses, and everyday families.”
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Rep. Andrew Garbarino: “Full repeal right now of energy tax credits would be a disaster for what companies have paid for, for what we’ve already invested in with taxpayer dollars[.]”
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Rep. Buddy Carter: “I think that they understand that there may be parts of it that can help us secure our supply chain. There may be parts of it that help us with domestic manufacturing.”
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Rep. Nick LaLota: “You can’t throw the baby out with the bathwater, and there are some things in the IRA worth preserving[.]”
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Rep. John James: “[W]e must not neglect the sector-wide energy tax provisions that manufacturers and job creators rely on in my district and around the country.”
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