The U.S. House budget blueprint that won approval this week calls for cutting federal spending on Medicaid by about $880-billion over the next decade, but Second District Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson says that should -not- translate to Medicaid recipients seeing cuts in payments.
“The bill that we passed this week is simply a budget resolution that lays out instructions for committees. I think it’s important to note also, we don’t want to cut benefits. We want to protect the most vulnerable,” Hinson says. “There’s a lot of fear mongering around these bills, and I want to make sure that programs like Medicaid can continue to serve our most vulnerable, and that they are not rife with waste, fraud and abuse.”
Medicaid provides health coverage to almost 80-million low-income Americans. Hinson, a Republican from Marion, says their goal is to focus on problem areas in various agencies, and not on hurting those who rely on federal assistance.
“We do have hundreds of billions of dollars in fraud in many of these programs, so, I think we can all agree able-bodied adults should be working if they’re receiving benefits,” Hinson says. “The White House has made it clear, we’re not going to be touching benefits, but we’re going to be addressing ways where we can protect the traditional Medicaid populations and make sure that these programs can continue to exist.”
There are critics who fear the budget plan will mean another delay to the Farm Bill, but during a conference call with Iowa reporters today, Hinson says she remains optimistic.
“My whole point in supporting the budget resolution this week is to make sure we’re providing savings for taxpayers and protecting tax cuts for taxpayers, which also helps to support our agricultural producers and our farmers,” Hinson says. “So, we’ll be working through that with the Agriculture Committee in the coming weeks as we work through that budget resolution.”
In addition, Hinson is co-sponsoring a bi-partisan bill called the SBA Disaster Transparency Act. She says it will hold the U.S. Small Business Administration more accountable for how funds are distributed following disasters to help homeowners and small businesses to rebuild and recover.
“In Iowa, we are no strangers to natural disasters,” she says. “Ensuring transparency standards are in place across federal disaster relief accounts will enhance our preparedness for Iowans and all Americans.”
During the stress of disaster recovery, Hinson says the last things anyone needs are “confusing, bureaucratic roadblocks.” She says the legislation will “streamline recovery efforts through the SBA, ensuring more Americans can access critical relief funds when they need them most.”
Earlier this week, Hinson released a statement saying she voted yes on the House GOP’s budget resolution so Congress can make good on President Trump’s America First agenda to secure the border, unleash American energy and prevent tax increases.