Smith Introduces Bill to Slash Washington Waste and Prevent Cuts to Medicare, Other Vital Programs, Triggered by Democrats’ Reckless Spending

Press Release

Smith Introduces Bill to Slash Washington Waste and Prevent Cuts to Medicare, Other Vital Programs, Triggered by Democrats' Reckless Spending

December 7, 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, House Budget Committee Republican Leader Jason Smith (MO-08) joined by House Ways and Means Committee Republican Leader Kevin Brady (TX-08) and House Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05) introduced H.R. 6144, the Removing Waste and Protecting Medicare Act, to cut waste in Washington and stave off looming cuts to vital government programs such as Medicare, that are in part the result of reckless federal spending enacted by Democrats.

Starting next year, cuts to Medicare and other programs are slated to occur due to the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (PAYGO) and the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA). PAYGO law requires that deficit increases be offset with mandatory spending cuts to government programs like Medicare at the end of the year. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is required by law to publicly release scorecards that contain balances for legislation that is enacted, which determine whether automatic cuts to certain programs will occur at the end of a session of Congress. A PAYGO scorecard recently published by OMB indicates that spending already enacted by Washington Democrats has triggered a $388 billion sequestration of mandatory spending next year, which when applied pursuant to the law would result in as much as $126 billion cut across vital government programs such as Medicare, farm security and rural investment programs, and maternal, infant, and early childhood support programs, among others.

"Democrats enacted a $2 trillion spending bill at the start of this Congress that has led to more debt, massive levels of waste, and is fueling the highest spike in prices in nearly forty years. Now, OMB has confirmed that this reckless government spending - the largest tranche of spending ever added to a PAYGO scorecard - will trigger well over $100 billion in cuts next year to critical government programs that support seniors and vulnerable populations. Democrats want to pretend their $2 trillion spending spree never happened. They want to outright ignore the PAYGO law as they plot to enact trillions more that will only exacerbate the crises harming Americans. The responsible course of action right now is to make targeted reforms and reduce spending in a way that will not only protect seniors, but reduce the waste in Washington that is driving up the price of goods and services for working families," said House Budget Committee Republican Leader Smith.

The legislation introduced by Smith would still honor the amount of cuts required by the 2010 PAYGO law and the 2011 BCA, but replace the automatic cuts to seniors and those in need with spending reductions to other programs while simultaneously addressing several of the crises facing American families. Specifically, the legislation:

• Addresses failures in America's immigration system by reinstating the Trump Administration's Public Charge Rule, requiring valid Social Security Numbers (SSN) for employment to receive the Child Tax Credit (CTC), and extending the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act's SSN requirement for CTC.
• Helps ease the labor participation shortage by implementing work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
• Scales back unnecessary and inflationary spending enacted under the $2 trillion Biden Bailout Bill, including funds from the Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund and the Coronavirus Relief Funds Assistance for State, Local & Tribal Governments.

Read the full text of the bill HERE.