House GOP unveils budget with trillions in cuts to medicaid, food benefits and more

Jake Johnson
and
Common Dreams
19 September 2023
WATCH: House chamber descends into chaos as Matt Gaetz clashes with Kevin McCarthy allies

House Republicans unveiled a budget blueprint on Tuesday that proposes trillions of dollars in federal spending reductions over the next decade, specifically targeting Medicaid and federal nutrition assistance for steep cuts.

House Budget Committee Republicans' new resolution also calls for the establishment of a "bipartisan debt commission" to examine and propose changes to "the drivers of U.S. debt... such as Social Security and Medicare." (Social Security does not, in fact, contribute to long-term federal deficits.)

"MAGA Republicans are driving our nation towards a costly government shutdown because they want to make cruel cuts to everything from healthcare to education, and this MAGA Budget doubles down on their extreme cuts," Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, said in response to the new proposal.

"Make no mistake: America is barreling towards a government shutdown because Republicans reneged on the bipartisan budget agreement in their thirst for cruel budget cuts—cuts which will raise the cost of living when it's already too high," Boyle added.

The Republican proposal, which has no chance of becoming law given Democratic control of the Senate, would cut federal discretionary spending by nearly $5 trillion over the next decade, Roll Call reported Tuesday. The plan would cut mandatory spending—a category that includes Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—by nearly $9 trillion over a 10-year period.

The proposal would gash federal Medicaid spending by close to $2 trillion and SNAP by $800 billion. The resolution also calls for punitive new work requirements for the two programs.

"While it is critical families have access to food," the GOP resolution states, "it is equally critical work-capable households are encouraged to make more responsible choices."

The budget blueprint comes a day after House Republicans put forth a short-term government funding plan that would impose steep cuts to nondefense discretionary spending. With a government shutdown less than two weeks away, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) "punted plans to tee up a vote" on the widely criticized government funding proposal, Politico reported Tuesday.

As for the new budget blueprint, it is largely in line with past Republican proposals.

In an analysis on Monday, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) noted that GOP budget plans over the past decade have "proposed large and damaging program cuts across a broad swath of nondefense areas."

"The proposed cuts disproportionately fell in programs for households with low and moderate incomes," CBPP observed, "but they were also broad-based and included deep cuts in the part of the budget that funds public services whose funding is provided annually, such as education, medical research, environmental protection, and the administration of the Social Security Administration."

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