Sen. Cassidy to Newsmax: Dems Lying About Megabill's Medicaid Cuts

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., the chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, told Newsmax on Thursday that Democrats are "saying things that are not true" about the Medicaid provisions included in the megabill legislation signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 4.

"People say, 'Oh my gosh, people will lose their Medicaid,'" Cassidy said on "Wake Up America." "Wait a second. If you're able-bodied, meaning you're not disabled, you don't have dependents, and you choose not to work, volunteer, or go to school 20 hours a week, you might lose your Medicaid."

However, Cassidy pointed out that he is a doctor who worked in a public hospital, treating uninsured people for 20 years.

"When somebody works, volunteers, or goes to school, they engage in life," he said. "They're a lot healthier. Idle hands are the devil's workshop. I think the American people kind of get that. We're giving you free insurance. Why don't you do something for yourself? But the Democrats don't care about people doing something for themselves."

Meanwhile, the Senate is facing another deadline next week to pass more than $9 billion in further cuts, including to foreign aid and more, which Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has said would poison bipartisan goodwill, but Cassidy said Thursday he is sure "something" will get passed.

"We're going to get rid of some waste, fraud, and abuse, and that's the priority," he said.

Cassidy is also working on a bipartisan proposal with Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., on Social Security funding that calls for setting up a fund separately from the program's trust fund and allowing it to grow as the American economy grows.

"What we do is we set up a fund separate from the trust fund, and we put $1.5 trillion in it," he said. "The power of the American economy takes that initial $1.5 trillion and, in nominal dollars, takes it to like $670 trillion over the next 70 years. That will avoid any benefit cuts. It will pay for additional benefits for some Americans, and it will pay off 85% of any debt we have."

And even if the market goes down, the damages will be absorbed, he said.

"When you invest over 70 years, you've got a lot of time to absorb and for things to come back," Cassidy added.

He also commented on the news that Dr. Kevin O'Connor, the former White House physician for then-President Joe Biden, invoked the Fifth Amendment while testifying before the House Oversight Committee Wednesday about Biden's health while in office.

"I'm not quite sure why he pleaded the Fifth," said Cassidy, adding that it was "pretty clear" that Biden "was senile" while debating with then-GOP nominee Donald Trump last summer.

"It's also pretty clear there was a conspiracy of the mainstream media to hide the fact, and that's been exposed now," said Cassidy. "So I don't need the doctor to say it. I think my own eyes could tell me."

He added that the American people also made their own assessment about Biden, who left the race "because it was pretty clear he had no chance of winning."

"I'm fairly confident in the wisdom of the American people," Cassidy said. "They're looking at a guy stumbling, confusing Medicare with something else. They said, this guy is out. I think that worked pretty well this past election."

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