CBO Analysis Proves Republican Budget Goals Are Impossible Without Gutting Medicaid

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley (D-OR) released the below statement following the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) new analysis underscoring the fact that Republican budget goals are impossible to achieve without severely gutting Medicaid.

“Republicans are claiming that their disaster of a budget won’t cut Medicaid. But today the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office confirmed that the Republicans’ budget will require gutting Medicaid. They know that slashing Medicaid will put millions of people in Oregon and across the country at risk: veterans, kids, the elderly, and folks with disabilities – especially in rural communities. Congressional Republicans need to own the fact that they’re willing to take away health care from millions of people to line the pockets of billionaires. That’s the Republican plan: families lose, billionaires win, and I’m going to fight this tooth and nail in the Senate,” said Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley.

The House-passed budget resolution calls for the House Energy & Commerce Committee to reduce deficits by $880 billion over ten years, but CBO’s analysis shows that there’s only $135 billion of savings available if all programs outside Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP) are eliminated. Savings of that magnitude are impossible without reductions to Medicare, Medicaid, or CHIP. 

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