House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., defended spending reductions for some government programs in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act against claims the GOP is eliminating eligibility for many Americans.
Johnson told CBS on Sunday that spending reductions for Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Program, for example, are reductions in unnecessary spending.
“We have not cut Medicaid, and we have not cut SNAP,” he said.
Johnson said it is the job of government leaders to make sure taxpayer dollars are spent appropriately. “What we’re doing is working on fraud, waste, and abuse, and everyone in Louisiana and around the country understands that that’s a responsibility of Congress.”
The speaker said as many as 4.8 million Medicaid recipients are “able-bodied workers, young men, for example, who are not working, who are taking advantage of the system.” He said he knows of no one paying into the system who thinks requiring anyone capable of working should not in order to be eligible for government benefits.
He said most Americans support reducing wasteful spending while making more money available to support those who need help.
“What we’re doing is strengthening Medicaid and SNAP so that they can exist, so that they’ll be there for the people that desperately need it the most, and it’s not being taken advantage of.” He added that every member of Congress needs to be on board. “And this is something that everybody in Congress, Republicans and Democrats, should agree to.”
Some states have begun amending their SNAP benefits to remove items such as soda from the list of allowed purchases. More states are working on similar rule changes.
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