In February, House Republicans passed what is called a “Budget Resolution." The Budget Resolution is not law, but a blueprint that instructs the House committees with jurisdiction over mandatory spending (more than 70 percent of the total federal budget) to develop policies that meet the cost and savings included in that Budget Resolution.
Since passing our Budget Resolution, Democrats and the mainstream media continue to say that Republicans in the House and Senate plan to cut Medicaid. The truth is we want to strengthen Medicaid by eliminating the almost $81 billion annually in waste, fraud, and abuse as identified by the General Accounting Office. This amount, over a ten year period (the period of time the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) uses to score legislation), equates to $810 billion in savings achieved just by closing those loopholes. And on Thursday, President Trump took a major step to abolish the Department of Education, a move that I have sought since each Congress that I have served. See more below!
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Below is what the GAO wrote to Congress in a letter dated September 2023: “Medicaid—a joint, federal-state program that finances health care coverage for low-income and medically needy individuals—has grown substantially. In fiscal year 2022, Medicaid served an estimated 82 million beneficiaries at an estimated cost of $516 billion to the federal government. Medicaid’s size and growth present challenges for both the federal government and states, which share responsibility for overseeing the program. In fiscal year 2022, Medicaid improper payments were estimated to total nearly $81 billion, representing over 15 percent of all Medicaid payments. Due to these and other challenges, we have identified Medicaid as a high-risk program since 2003.”
You can read the full report, including the letter referenced above within it, for yourself here.
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The House Budget Resolution instructs the Committee on Energy and Commerce (E&C) to save $880 billion across its vast jurisdiction, which includes energy, telecommunications, and health care. This is where Democrats point when they claim Republicans want to cut Medicaid, giving the impression that we want to cut benefits from those who need it. Instead, the goal is to strengthen, secure, and sustain Medicaid long-term for those who qualify for the benefit. Bottom line: The Energy & Commerce Committee can save taxpayers $880 billion just by making commonsense reforms to Medicaid without cutting benefits to those who are legitimate recipients.
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On Thursday, President Trump signed an executive order for Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon to start the process of dismantling the Department of Education. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, approximately 43 million citizens in our country struggle with basic literacy skills, yet more than $3 trillion has been spent by Washington bureaucrats since the creation of the Department of Education. Under President Trump's leadership, we’ve taken a bold step toward returning education where it truly belongs. Dismantling the Department of Education so we can return education and its funding back to the states is a win for students, parents, and our country. Important programs, such as student loans and Pell Grants, would be administered by other federal agencies — not abolished.
Earlier this year, just as I have done at the beginning of each Congress since my first election, I introduced the States' Education Reclamation Act. This bill, H.R. 369, would terminate the Department of Education and move important programs to other federal agencies where they can be administered.
Additionally, the bill would return each state's share of funding going to the U.S. Department of Education back to the respective states to be used for teacher pay increases, new schools, and/or other education needs as identified.
Flashback: Watch President Reagan's comments on the Department of Education back in 1980. Even then, one year after it's creation, its many faults and how it was set to fail students, parents, and taxpayers could already be seen.
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For this week’s good news story, I am recognizing Clarkton School of Discovery teacher Laura Hall, who was just named WWAY’s Teacher of the Month. Laura has taught in Bladen County for seventeen years and is known for her hands-on approach to science instruction. Her students praise her for being patient, unique, and open minded. Congratulations to Laura!
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"A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new." — Albert Einstein
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