It is important to understand for those who criticize certain parts of the "big beautiful bill" that this crisis is not going to be solved with one piece of legislation, but that it is an important start to a process to both begin paying down the national debt and to downsize the scope of the federal government, Rep. Michael Lawler, R-N.Y., told Newsmax on Monday.
Appearing on "National Report," he explained that over the years "this crisis has grown significantly under [both] Republicans [and] Democrats. We've added $30 trillion in debt over two decades. You are not going to solve this crisis in one [bill]."
Lawler emphasized to those especially on the right who believe the legislation does not cut deeply enough, that "this is the beginning of a process to start to reduce the deficit, pay down our debt and rightsize the size and scope of the federal government. You can't do it all at once. And you do need growth.
"You do need investments. You do need a tax policy that actually will allow for job creation and investments within our business community."
Lawler also discussed other critics of the bill who say that it will severely harm many of those who need food assistance or Medicaid.
The New York congressman explained that "the bill requires a 5% cost-share on food assistance programs for the states, not that people be cut off, but that ... we are saying [to the states] help pay for this vital program."
Regarding Medicaid, Lawler said that "for those on traditional Medicaid — seniors, those in the IDD community, children, single mothers — they are protected, and nobody is trying to change Medicaid benefits as pertains to them."
Instead, he explained that "we are talking about people who either don't qualify and should not receive benefits and those who are able-bodied and refusing to work. We want them to be part of the workforce."
Lawler added that "obviously the language matters and we are working through what comes out of the Senate."
He said, "We went through an extensive process in the House. ... It's imperative that we work through this … obviously there are still some concerns about some of the language with respects to Medicaid, some of the IRA provisions, so we are waiting to see what comes out of the Senate vote-a-rama."
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Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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