Scott Garrett: “Federal spending is just too high and basically it is in danger of spiraling out of complete control. But American…”

“Federal spending is just too high and basically it is in danger of spiraling out of complete control. But American families are really better off if they are able to keep more of their money to decide to spend it as they see their needs fit. But only when excesses and unnecessary spending are identified and eliminated will that happen. And that is really the responsibility of both sides of the aisle. The bill before us began with $34 billion in savings. We have another $15 billion roughly in savings on top of it. This will not fix our mandatory spending problems right away, but it is a first step in the right direction. Unfortunately, opponents on the other side of the aisle have been spreading lies about it when they say there are cuts in the Medicaid funding program. In fact, the reform program includes a 7 percent increase in spending for Medicaid. Programs like Medicaid simply cannot sustain themselves without any reform. No one can argue that Medicaid is a completely 100 percent efficient program. Reforms are necessary to protect the program and protect the services that are provided to the people who receive them. Right now, around 53 million Americans receive the benefits of this program. It is a State-Federal partnership. And unless reform is done now, we will see that program become disabled and cripple the States and eventually lead to bankruptcy. One area we see this is in prescription drugs.…”