Washington, DC -Today, Congressman Van Drew discussed the passage of H.R. 1, the budget reconciliation.
"This morning, House Republicans passed the budget reconciliation package," said Congressman Van Drew. "I want to make it clear that in this bill there are NO cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, or Social Security for the people these programs were designed to serve. I have been deeply disturbed by the misinformation the left has been circulating surrounding this bill, so I wanted to take the opportunity to give you a breakdown of what is being said versus what is actually true."
Medicaid-
FICTION: Millions of eligible Americans will lose their coverage.
FACT: Medicaid for eligible individuals remains fully funded and protected.
- Children, seniors, the disabled, pregnant women, and working families remain fully protected.
- The bill ends loopholes that allow illegal immigrants to access Medicaid.
- The bill enacts work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents—20 hours a week of work/volunteer requirements, including online courses.
- The estimate of eligible Americans losing coverage comes from a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projection which assumes no compliance with these work requirements over 10 years which is just not realistic.
Medicare-
FICTION: Medicare is being slashed by $500 billion.
FACT: Medicare remains untouched, unharmed, and fully funded.
- The $500 billion figure comes from a technical scoring mechanism, not from any policy that is actually in the bill. There will be no cuts.
- House Republicans are already preparing a waiver to the mechanism so no Medicare cuts will ever take effect under this bill.
Social Security-
FICTION: This bill cuts Social Security benefits.
FACT: There are no changes to eligibility, benefits, or payment schedules.
- Not one line of the bill touches Social Security at all.
- The bill even includes a $4,000 tax deduction for individuals over 65, offering relief to our seniors.
- Some may be curious why 'No Tax on Social Security' was not included:
- A Senate rule, the Byrd rule, prohibits non-budgetary items like Social Security changes from being included in a reconciliation bill to ensure that reconciliation legislation focuses strictly on budget-related changes.
- In light of this, I recently introduced H.R. 904, the No Tax on Social Security Act, which would provide much-needed relief for our seniors. I will not give up on this fight to stop taxing Social Security benefits. We need to get this done.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)-
FICTION: SNAP benefits are being slashed.
FACT: SNAP remains fully funded and intact under the legislation.
- Vulnerable Americans, including children, the elderly, and individuals with disabilities, will not see a reduction in access to SNAP benefits.
- The reforms apply only to able-bodied adults without dependents and are aimed at increasing accountability.
- The reforms focus solely on reducing administrative costs, not cutting benefits.
- The legislation rebalances the cost-sharing structure between the federal government and the states to improve oversight, reduce fraud, ensure benefits go only to eligible recipients, and protect the long-term sustainability of the program.
- States with high payment error rates exceeding 10% will now have to share in the cost of those administrative errors, ensuring that the money is not wasted and that it is actually going to the people who deserve and need it.
"I do want to note the version the House voted on is not the final version of the bill. There will be changes as it now moves to the Senate before final passage and signature into law," Congressman Van Drew continued. "I have been heavily involved in negotiations for the House version of this bill, and I will continue to closely monitor the bill as changes are made in the Senate to ensure there are no cuts to the programs our people rely on. I have said it before, and I will say it again: we owe it to hardworking American families to ensure these vital programs remain strong and funded."
Other Key Provisions of the Bill Include:
- Locking in the 2017 Trump tax cuts to prevent a 22% tax increase on working families
- Eliminating federal taxes on tips, overtime pay, and car loan interest
- Repealing Biden's Green New Deal mandates, EV rules, and environmental slush funds
- Resuming oil and gas leasing on federal lands and streamlining energy permitting
- Investing over $140 billion in border security—the largest investment in U.S. history
- Completing the border wall and enabling over 1 million deportations annually
- Hiring 10,000 new ICE personnel and expanding detention capacity to 100,000 beds
- Modernizing national defense with nearly $144 billion in military investments
- Achieving over $1.5 trillion in net deficit reduction—the largest in nearly 30 years
