Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders dodged answering if Democrats could have “done more” to cut wasteful government spending under the Biden-Harris administration Sunday on NBC News.
House Republicans took the first step Tuesday to advance President Donald Trump’s first-year legislative agenda with their budget bill, approving up to $4.5 trillion in deficit increases to push for Trump’s goal of cutting between $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion in spending. On “Meet the Press,” NBC host Kristen Welker pointed out the budget bill, mentioning Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson had talked about cutting wasteful spending and that Medicare and Medicaid made billions in spending errors in 2023.
“Let me ask you, 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?” Welker asked.
“And Trump was in power four years before that,” Sanders responded. “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 there’s massive waste and fraud, we should go after waste, fraud and abuse in every agency of government. There’s no argument about that.”
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In a report published on April 24, 2024, by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), both Medicare and Medicaid were found to be “susceptible to payment errors” in 2023, costing taxpayers over $100 billion in “improper payments.” The GAO’s report stated that, despite testifying before Congress and suggesting recommendations to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, both agencies failed to take action — some of which could have saved Medicare billions, according to the GAO.
Sanders went on to claim that Republicans are attempting to make “massive cuts” to Medicaid through the budget bill, stating that the cuts would only benefit “the richest 1%.”
“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,” Sanders said. “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 Musk’s and Zuckerberg’s and the Bezos’s of the world.”
“In my view, you don’t 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,” Sanders concluded.
Despite Democrats’ cries over alleged cuts to Medicaid and Medicare, Republicans have refuted their claims, even before the budget moved forward, stating that the GOP budget proposal does not prescribe specific spending cuts.
Prior to the budget’s advancement on Tuesday, Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, held a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol, claiming the “budget represents the largest Medicaid cut in history.”
“The reckless Republican budget will hurt everyday Americans who rely on Medicaid, rely on nutritional assistance and rely on veterans’ assistance,” Jeffries said. “It’s not a reality show. This is not a joke. It’s not politics as usual. It’s a matter of life and death.”
Following the budget’s approval, Democrats continued to push their talking points on Medicaid and Medicare, with Jeffries telling Daily Caller News Foundation’s Andi Napier 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.”
Since Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Elon Musk announced on Feb. 3 that he and Trump agreed to overhaul the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Democrats have intensified their pushback against the Trump administration’s efforts to cut government spending. While 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 —Democratic lawmakers have protested Musk and DOGE’s involvement and filed dozens of lawsuits.
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