>> Continued From the Previous Page <<
Without the parliamentarian’s decision, backers say the measure likely would have passed.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who recently announced he would not seek reelection after criticism from former President Donald Trump, spoke forcefully on the Senate floor against Medicaid spending for illegal immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers.
“Republicans are about to make a mistake on health care and betray a promise,” Tillis warned. “It is inescapable that this bill in its current form will betray the very promise that Donald J. Trump made in the Oval Office—or in the Cabinet Room, when I was there with Finance—where he said, ‘we can go after waste, fraud, and abuse on any programs.’”
Tillis accused the White House of relying on bad advice that could ultimately harm American citizens.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt pushed back during a briefing earlier Monday, calling Tillis “wrong” and defending the legislation as critical to preserving Medicaid for those who truly need it.
“He is just wrong, and the President and the vast majority of Republicans who are supportive of this legislation are right,” Leavitt said. “This bill protects Medicaid… for the needy, pregnant women, children, sick Americans who physically cannot work. And what it does is it ensures that able-bodied Americans who can work 20 hours a week are actually doing so, and that will therefore strengthen and protect those benefits for Americans who need it, as well as cutting out the waste, fraud and abuse, as well as getting 1.4 million illegal aliens off of the program.”
Leavitt insisted the proposed reforms would safeguard the program for American citizens while removing fraudulent claims.
The House of Representatives is scheduled to take up the final version of the legislation on Wednesday. It remains unclear how many Republicans might oppose the bill following changes made during the Senate’s debate.
