(25 Feb 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
++SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY BLACK FRAMES++
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Washington – 25 February 2025
1. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Tim Burchett, (R) Tennessee:
“I suggested multiple times getting the four of us that are against this thing in a room and maybe talk to the president. But for some reason, our leadership has not thought that was a wise idea.”
(Reporter: What’s the difference between now and tonight that would make it different for you?)
“I’d just like some commitment to the future of spending. Where are we going with this thing? It’s just ridiculous.”
++BLACK FRAMES++
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Mike Lawler, (R) New York:
“Well, first of all, when you are trying to unwind 30 plus years of bad fiscal practice, you’re not going to do it all at one time. I mean, that’s just a reality. Unless you make draconian cuts. Right? And so, I think part of this is working to bend the curve, stop the outrageous growth in spending that we saw under the Biden administration, $7 trillion in, you know, budget. 36 trillion in debt. Think about the fact that just 20 years ago, we were in single digit trillions when it came to our national debt. So, we’ve added over 30 trillion in just two decades. That’s not sustainable.”
++BLACK FRAMES++
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Mike Lawler, (R) New York:
“We are going to work through the process. I’ve been very clear I’m not cutting benefits to Medicaid recipients. The president’s been very clear, but this process will play itself out.”
++BLACK FRAMES++
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, (R) New York:
“When you look at the numbers, it’s 30 to $50 billion a year, which would be could be close to $500 billion just in that realm to tackle that waste, fraud and abuse. And if we make the program more efficient, we could actually make sure that the people who it’s intended for are the recipients, our seniors, our developmentally disabled, other people with disabilities. And that’s what my focus has been. And so, we’re still working through it, but I think that we’re in a better place today than we were yesterday, let’s put it that way.”
++BLACK FRAME++
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, (R) New York:
“We want to make sure that we’re doing things with a scalpel and not a sledgehammer. I’ve had concerns with what happened last week when the CDC saw this across the board cut, and it impacted the 911 first responders in my district because there were people eliminated for the World Trade Center health program and grants that were eliminated going to the FDNY for 911 illnesses. That is a perfect example of unintended consequences that can occur when you do things in a rash manner. And so, we need to take our time, make sure it’s done appropriately and right, and we’re really rooting out the waste fraud, the fraud, the abuse, the mismanagement, the unnecessary overhead and not hurting people who truly rely on these programs.”
++ENDS ON SOUNDBITE++
STORYLINE:
Against the odds, House Speaker Mike Johnson is trying Tuesday to muscle a Republican budget blueprint to passage, a step toward delivering President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” with $4.5 trillion in tax breaks and $2 trillion in spending cuts over stiff opposition from Democrats — and even some Republicans.
One of those Republicans, Rep. Tim Burchett, (R) Tennessee, says he and the other holdouts would have liked to talk with the president about the bill.
Rep. Mike Lawler, (R) New York, says he’s not making cuts to Medicare recipients.
Elon Musk is leading Trump’s efforts to overhaul and downsize the federal government.
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