Jeffries: ‘Republicans are lying’ about Medicaid cuts

Home Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) went after Republicans on Thursday over their designs for Medicaid, saying GOP leaders are deceiving People by claiming that no sufferers will lose well being advantages underneath their plan.

“Republicans are lying to the American people about Medicaid,” Jeffries stated throughout a press briefing within the Capitol.

Medicaid has emerged as maybe probably the most contentious piece of the Home Republicans’ large price range blueprint for shifting President Trump’s home agenda throughout his first yr again in workplace. Beneath the GOP decision, the Vitality and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over Medicaid, has been tasked with discovering no less than $880 billion in cuts to applications underneath its purview to assist offset the price of trillions of {dollars} in Republican tax cuts.

Behind Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), GOP leaders preserve they will attain the $880 billion mark by hunting down waste, fraud and abuse underneath Medicaid, whereas additionally making use of new work necessities on some grownup beneficiaries. 

“Everybody is committed to preserving [Medicaid] benefits for those who desperately need it and deserve it and qualify for it,” Johnson advised reporters this week. “What we’re talking about is rooting out the fraud, waste and abuse.”

Home Majority Chief Steve Scalise (R-La.) was much more adamant, waving a duplicate of the Republicans’ price range decision and difficult Democrats to seek out proof of Medicaid cuts, which aren’t talked about within the doc. 

“Instead of just sitting back and licking their wounds that they’re completely out of touch with the American people, their only choice is to resort to lying about what’s in this vote,” Scalise stated. 

“There is no Medicaid in this bill. There are no Medicaid cuts in this bill.”

Democrats have rejected that argument out of hand. Whereas acknowledging the absence of a particular reference to Medicaid within the 45-page price range invoice, they argue that the Vitality and Commerce Committee doesn’t oversee sufficient spending on different applications to seek out $880 billion with out deep cuts to Medicaid. 

“If Energy and Commerce Committee said we don’t want to cut Medicaid, instead we will cut literally everything else we possibly can 100 percent, that only gets you about halfway to the $880 billion,” Rep. Brendan Boyle (Pa.), senior Democrat on the Home Funds Committee, stated earlier within the week.

“So, by definition, they have to, as a minimum, cut hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicaid.”

That message is now on the coronary heart of the Democrats’ counter-messaging technique as they combat to dam Trump’s “one big beautiful bill” technique from changing into legislation. Because the minority get together in each chambers, Democrats are powerless to sink the laws on their very own. However they’re hoping to fire up sufficient public outrage over the spending cuts that susceptible Republicans in purple districts will vote in opposition to them. 

Jeffries is main that messaging cost. 

“Everybody knows, who has had any connection to the congressional budget, that if you are directing the Energy and Commerce Committee to find up to $880 billion, if not more, in spending cuts, that means Medicaid,” he stated Thursday. “That may damage youngsters, damage households, damage on a regular basis People with disabilities and damage seniors. 

“I can’t say it any other way: Republicans are lying,” he added. “Prove me wrong.”