For too long, Washington’s reckless spending has gone unchecked, driving up deficits year after year with little accountability or oversight. That era is coming to an end.
An Op-Ed by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis. As published in the Staten Island Advance
There has been a lot of misinformation about the budget reconciliation process, but the reality is clear: President Trump and House Republicans are taking a stand. We are committed to eliminating the wasteful spending that has plagued our government for generations, and restoring fiscal responsibility.
We have big ambitions for what we can and will deliver for the American people as we enter America’s next golden age. In just over 100 days, President Trump has already secured trillions of dollars in domestic and foreign private investment to fuel our economy and restore American prosperity. Building on that momentum, we remain focused on strengthening border security, enhancing public safety, lowering the cost of living and taxes, and saving federal tax dollars while preserving Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. It all starts with the budget blueprint that both chambers have now passed — a critical step that allows us to work together and deliver on the promises the American people entrusted to our Republican majority.
I have approached the budget reconciliation process with a deliberate and thoughtful focus, working closely with my colleagues — including Speaker Johnson and Chairman Brett Guthrie of the Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees Medicaid policy— to ensure that this framework does not put us on a path to cutting benefits for seniors, children, individuals with disabilities, and other vulnerable citizens who rely on these programs. Last month, I, along with 11 of my Republican colleagues, wrote to our leadership to make clear that we will not support a final bill that reduces Medicaid benefits to the most vulnerable citizens that are legally eligible for it and depend on it.
As we consider the menu of options to improve Medicaid, we must evaluate the long-term financial viability of the federal government’s third-largest entitlement program. Despite rising Medicaid spending year after year, health outcomes have not improved, and the program is riddled with an estimated fraud of $50 billion a year. That’s why I am committed to advancing responsible reforms that focus on work requirements for the able-bodied adult population without dependents, the removal of illegal non-citizens, and ineligible recipients defrauding the program. In New York alone, the Emergency Medicaid program has grown by 1,200% over the past 10 years, with hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants now enrolled in the program according to the Empire Center.
We must also eliminate waste and abuse within the program. States like New York have failed to crack down on this within their Medicaid programs, costing our state an estimated $20 billion per year and leaving hardworking taxpayers to foot the bill. Even Governor Hochul has acknowledged the rampant abuse within New York’s Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program, stating, “It has become a racket.” She went so far as to call it “one of the most abused programs in the history of New York,” citing viral TikTok videos where young people boast about earning $37 an hour to “sit home with your grandma.” Echoing Governor Hochul’s concerns, Attorney General Letitia James highlighted Medicaid fraud in the transportation sector, stating: “This fraud is very simple. Transportation companies are billing Medicaid for fake rides and tolls, costing New York taxpayers tens of millions of dollars every year, money that should be used to fund health care for the most vulnerable New Yorkers.”
Earlier this year, Governor Hochul warned of “unsustainable” growth in the New York Medicaid program. Despite her comments on fraud and unsustainable growth, Governor Hochul has increased state Medicaid spending by 59% over the past four state budgets, without any real solutions while knowing the federal government will cover most of the bill.
Sadly, Democrats have continued to fear monger and push falsehoods that Republicans are looking to slash these programs. The President and I have consistently maintained that we will not support changes to these safety net programs that reduce benefits to the most vulnerable.
Today, Medicare and Medicaid deliver essential healthcare coverage to over 10 million New Yorkers. Social Security supplies supplement income to over 70 million Americans, representing about 1 in 5 residents in the United States. Generations of hardworking Americans have paid diligently into Social Security and other essential entitlement programs. I understand just how important they are, as my own parents are Social Security and Medicare recipients, just like so many other seniors and individuals who rely on these programs. I will always fight to protect our seniors and individuals with disabilities who depend on Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security benefits.
Reasonable and effective reforms are necessary to ensure that these safety net programs can continue operating for decades to come for our fellow citizens who truly need them. Rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse, eliminating unnecessary overhead, and reducing bloated bureaucracy — while administering programs more efficiently — will allow these benefits to reach the most vulnerable individuals these programs were created to protect. We must put our nation on a path to fiscal responsibility, guaranteeing that the next generation inherits stronger, more effective programs to position our country on the right track.