Washington, D.C. suits don’t like answering questions. But now they’re being exposed.
Because a U.S. Senator was just stumped by a super simple question in an embarrassing TV interview.
Senator Bernie Sanders Dodges Question on Democrats’ Role in Addressing Wasteful Government Spending
Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders was reluctant to answer whether Democrats could have done more to address wasteful government spending during the Biden-Harris administration in an appearance on NBC News’ Meet the Press on Sunday.
The interview came on the heels of House Republicans taking a key step in advancing their budget bill, aimed at fulfilling former President Donald Trump’s first-year legislative agenda. The bill proposes up to $4.5 trillion in deficit increases while pushing for Trump’s goal of cutting between $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion in government spending. NBC host Kristen Welker raised concerns regarding the budget bill and asked Sanders whether Democrats had done enough to tackle wasteful spending, especially in relation to the insolvency of entitlement programs like Medicare and Medicaid.
“Let me ask you, Senator, Democrats were in charge for four years. Should the Democratic Party have done more to address some of those issues with the insolvency of our entitlement programs?” Welker asked. In response, Sanders deflected the question, shifting the blame to the Trump administration’s previous four years in power.
“And Trump was in power four years before that,” Sanders said. “Look, if there is waste and fraud in the Defense Department, which is the largest single budget item that we fund, which has not been able to fulfill an independent audit in the last seven times, where there’s massive waste and fraud, we should go after waste, fraud, and abuse in every agency of government. There’s no argument about that.”
According to government watch-dog research, Bernie Sanders is being somewhat deceitful when he mentions the Defense Department being the number one budget item. It is true that the Defense Department itself, as an agency, receives the most funding. Though, annual non-defense spending is around 4-5 times more than defense spending. Meaning, there is far more to cut on the non-defense side than the defense side. The Democrat talking point about cutting military spending is usually one made to ignore the massive non-defense bloat and fraud.
In a report released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on April 24, 2024, both Medicare and Medicaid were flagged for being “susceptible to payment errors” in 2023. These errors, totaling over $100 billion in improper payments, prompted calls for corrective actions. The GAO indicated that, despite previous recommendations to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, both agencies failed to act on suggestions that could have saved Medicare billions of dollars.
Senator Sanders used the occasion to deflect the conversation toward Republicans’ efforts to cut Medicaid, claiming that their proposed budget would disproportionately benefit the wealthiest Americans. “What Republicans are trying to do right now is to make massive cuts in Medicaid, over $800 billion, cuts in nutrition programs which feed hungry children,” Sanders said. “Why are they doing that? Because they want to be able to use those savings to provide over $1 trillion in tax breaks for the richest 1% for the Elon Musk’s and Zuckerberg’s and the Bezos’s of the world.”
He argued that the Republican agenda would harm vulnerable populations in favor of giving tax breaks to billionaires. “In my view, you don’t take food away from children, health care away from struggling people to give tax breaks to billionaires,” Sanders added. “Do we go after waste and fraud in every agency of government? Yes, we do,” he concluded.
While Democrats have repeatedly expressed concern over alleged cuts to Medicaid and Medicare in the Republican budget, GOP lawmakers have denied these claims. They assert that the proposal does not specify cuts but instead outlines a framework for fiscal responsibility.
In the lead-up to the budget’s passage on Tuesday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries held a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol, denouncing the Republican proposal as harmful to everyday Americans. “The reckless Republican budget will hurt everyday Americans who rely on Medicaid, rely on nutritional assistance, and rely on veterans’ assistance,” Jeffries stated. “It’s not a reality show. This is not a joke. It’s not politics as usual. It’s a matter of life and death.”
After the budget’s approval, Jeffries reiterated his concerns, telling the reporter Andi Napier that the budget “authorizes up to $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid by directing the Energy and Commerce Committee to find those spending cuts.”
The debate over government spending and the future of entitlement programs has only intensified in recent weeks, with the Biden administration’s approach facing scrutiny from both sides of the political spectrum. Democrats have increasingly voiced opposition to the budget’s provisions, particularly in regard to Medicaid, as well as the role of Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Elon Musk in overseeing cuts to U.S. government programs like the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Reports have highlighted concerns over billions of taxpayer dollars wasted on USAID programs, some of which were accused of promoting a Left-leaning global agenda. Despite these findings, Democratic lawmakers have protested Musk’s involvement, filing multiple lawsuits to block any efforts to streamline or reduce government spending through such measures.
This is non-defense government spending – in 1930 it was 2.5% of GDP, last year it was 27% of GDP. The government has grown 10x faster than the economy, but evidently our problems are worse than ever. Can we stop the madness? Big government creates problems, it doesn’t fix them. pic.twitter.com/sQdstp8pMN
— Brian Wesbury (@wesbury) November 16, 2021
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
