In a recent appearance on NBC News, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent, sidestepped a question regarding whether the Democratic Party could have done more to curtail excessive government spending during the Biden-Harris administration.
This comes in the wake of House Republicans initiating the process to further President Donald Trump's legislative agenda during his first year in office. Their budget bill, which was approved on Tuesday, allows for a deficit increase of up to $4.5 trillion.
This move is in line with Trump's objective of slashing between $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion in spending. NBC host Kristen Welker, during the "Meet the Press" segment, highlighted this budget bill. She noted that Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson had discussed the need to reduce wasteful spending, and that Medicare and Medicaid had made billions in spending errors in 2023.
According to Conservative Daily News, Welker questioned Sanders, "Senator Democrats were in charge for four years. Should the Democratic Party have done more to address some of those issues with the insolvency of our entitlement programs?
Sanders retorted, And Trump was in power four years before that. Look, if there is waste and fraud in the Defense Department, which is the largest single budget item that we fund, which has not been able to fulfill an independent audit in the last seven times, where theres massive waste and fraud, we should go after waste, fraud and abuse in every agency of government. Theres no argument about that.
On April 24, 2024, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report revealing that both Medicare and Medicaid were "susceptible to payment errors" in 2023. These errors cost taxpayers over $100 billion in "improper payments." Despite the GAO's testimony before Congress and its recommendations to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, both agencies failed to act, a failure that could have saved Medicare billions, as per the GAO.
Sanders continued his argument by accusing Republicans of attempting to implement "massive cuts" to Medicaid through the budget bill. He claimed that these cuts would only serve to benefit "the richest 1%."
Sanders stated, But let us be very clear, what Republicans are trying to do right now is to make massive cuts in Medicaid, over $800 billion, cuts in nutrition programs which feed hungry children. Why are they doing that? Because they want to be able to use those savings to provide over $1 trillion in tax breaks for the richest 1% for the Elon Musks and Zuckerbergs and the Bezoss of the world.
Sanders concluded by saying, In my view, you dont take food away from children, health care away from struggling people to give tax breaks to billionaires. Do we go after waste and fraud in every agency of government? Yes, we do.
Despite the Democrats' outcry over alleged cuts to Medicaid and Medicare, Republicans have denied these claims, even before the budget was approved. They maintain that the GOP budget proposal does not prescribe specific spending cuts.
In the lead-up to the budget's approval on Tuesday, Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, held a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol. They claimed that the budget represented the "largest Medicaid cut in history."
Jeffries stated, The reckless Republican budget will hurt everyday Americans who rely on Medicaid, rely on nutritional assistance and rely on veterans assistance. Its not a reality show. This is not a joke. Its not politics as usual. Its a matter of life and death.
Following the budget's approval, Democrats continued to push their narrative on Medicaid and Medicare. Jeffries told Daily Caller News Foundations Andi Napier on Thursday that the budget "authorizes up to $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid by directing the Energy and Commerce Committee to find those spending cuts.
The Democrats' pushback against the Trump administration's efforts to reduce government spending has intensified since Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), announced on Feb. 3 that he and Trump agreed to overhaul the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Reports have revealed that billions of taxpayer dollars were wasted on various USAID programs, some of which aimed to advance a radical leftist agenda globally. Despite this, Democratic lawmakers have protested Musk and DOGEs involvement and filed dozens of lawsuits.
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