Thune Joins Martha MacCallum on Fox News
“[T]he changes that we made are commonsense changes that the American people, once they hear about them, they’re going to agree with.”
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WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today joined Martha MacCallum on Fox News.
On the Big, Beautiful Bill:
“The fact of the matter is, these are changes that are long overdue. We’ve got a $36 trillion debt growing by the day, and it was high time that we did some things to … get this country on a more sustainable fiscal path and restore some fiscal sanity. And so the changes that we made are commonsense changes that the American people, once they hear about them, they’re going to agree with.”
[…]
“One of the things that we said as a result of the legislation that we passed last week is there ought to be some reasonable expectation that people who are getting benefits through government programs are at least attempting to find jobs…
“But I think the American people, Martha, agree with us that when it comes to government programs … when they’re taking money out of the economy, out of the pockets of hard-working Americans, sending to Washington, D.C., there ought to be a reasonable expectation that you’re going to do your best to root out fraud, waste, and abuse, that you’re going to do your best to ensure that there are work requirements, and that there aren’t people who are benefiting from these programs who aren’t eligible for them.
“Those are all … reasonable reforms that make these programs fiscally stronger and more sustainable for the long term, so they can continue to deliver the benefits for whom they were intended. And that’s what this is all about.”
On Democrats’ fearmongering:
“Well, don’t believe the threats … These are scare tactics. This is the Democrat playbook. They’ve tried it over and over and over again.
“When you do big things here in Washington, when you do what we did with this bill – in the area of tax relief for middle-income families, for working Americans, in the area of energy dominance, in the area of border security, military modernization, and obviously savings that we achieved, 1.5 trillion in savings, which is historic, hasn’t happened ever. But these are reforms that needed to be made, and the American people understand that.”
On cutting waste, fraud, and abuse:
“I think the American people also believe that there ought to be work requirements for people who benefit from Medicaid or food stamps. There ought to be some expectation, at least, that you’re going to try and get a job or do some community service or try to go … back to school – do something that will put you in a position where perhaps you don’t have to have the government assistance.
“Government assistance is there for people who need it. It will continue to be there. Rural hospitals are going to be fine. We put a significant reinvestment into the bill to help out with rural hospitals in the event that they’re experiencing … financial issues as a result of any changes that have been made.”
[…]
“But the fact of the matter is, these are changes that are long overdue. We’ve got a $36 trillion debt growing by the day, and it was high time that we did some things to … get this country on a more sustainable fiscal path and restore some fiscal sanity. And so the changes that we made are commonsense changes that the American people, once they hear about them, they’re going to agree with.”
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