When it comes to the House Republicans careening toward a government shutdown, it’s tempting to see it as a circus act put on for our entertainment. However, we must remember that the threat it poses to everyday Americans, particularly those reliant on government programs, is no laughing matter.
Even if the Republicans manage to avoid a shutdown for now, the budget cuts that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) has expressed support for, in order to appease his far-right caucus, would have devastating consequences for the most vulnerable citizens who rely on government assistance.
According to analyses conducted by progressive think tanks, including the Center for American Progress and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, based on official communications such as the budget resolution released by House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) on September 20, these are some of the proposed cuts to the social safety net:
- A 77% reduction ($14.7 billion) in Title I education grants to school districts with high levels of poverty, which provide crucial services and support to low-income and disadvantaged students. This funding is considered a vital federal support for K-12 education.
The ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes went about with a lantern in search of an honest man. We don’t even need that much: Just a man with a hint of steadfastness in his makeup. Apparently we’ll have to keep looking.
- A 56% to 70% reduction in the fruit and vegetable benefit of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), affecting approximately 5 million participants.
- Unsustainable cuts to low-income assistance programs for housing and heating.
- $1.9 trillion in Medicaid cuts over the span of 10 years.
These cuts go well beyond what was agreed upon during the debt-ceiling negotiations earlier this year, which McCarthy had accepted.
To cater to their wealthy supporters, the House caucus plans to rescind the $88 billion in additional funding for the Internal Revenue Service, which was endorsed as part of last year’s Inflation Reduction Act. This drastic measure exceeds the $21-billion cuts agreed upon during the debt-ceiling negotiations. Ironically, this approach to IRS funding, driven by penny-pinching, hinders the agency’s ability to enforce tax compliance and provide taxpayer services.
It’s worth noting that every dollar invested in enforcement yields multiple times that amount in recovered taxes. In fact, the IRS reported recovering $38 million in delinquent taxes from high-income taxpayers using the enforcement funding provided by the Inflation Reduction Act. This is undoubtedly a thorn in the side of a party that prioritizes shielding its patrons from fulfilling their tax obligations.
The absurdity of these “negotiations” is that they won’t assist Speaker McCarthy, the epitome of political spinelessness, in securing a funding proposal that the Senate would find remotely acceptable. Even Senate Republicans have joined a bipartisan spending plan. However, there are doubts as to whether McCarthy can pass any proposal through his caucus, which is effectively controlled by extremists determined to impose ever-harsher spending cuts. They seem intent on shutting down the government this weekend, despite knowing that the public consistently holds the GOP accountable for shutdowns, ultimately leading to electoral disaster.
The complete lack of character among congressional Republicans, including those aligned with McCarthy, is truly astonishing. They have no qualms about slandering hardworking Americans while taking every opportunity to slack off themselves.
During the debt-ceiling negotiations, Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.), one of McCarthy’s lieutenants, accused Democrats of being willing to default on the debt in order to continue providing welfare payments to those refusing to work. The nerve of this baseless slander is astounding, considering that the House of Representatives took numerous days off while claiming to work on behalf of the people. In fact, the House was only in session for 117 days in 2023, less than half of the typical 240 workdays for most Americans, not including weekends and holidays. They even took the entire month of August off, returning to session only in September while the possibility of a shutdown loomed. The rest of their designated “district work days” are dubious at best.
Graves has resurfaced during the shutdown negotiations, expressing the Republicans’ unwavering focus on achieving their conservative objectives, which includes massive savings. The Washington Post estimates these savings to be over $150 billion per year, accomplished by cutting funding for child care, education subsidies, medical research, and various other federal operations.
If there’s a silver lining in this performative horseplay by the House GOP, it’s that the political press is finally recognizing it as a symptom of Republican dysfunction, particularly McCarthy’s dysfunction, rather than a generalized congressional problem. It’s clear that a viable budget plan can be passed by the House, but it would require McCarthy to cooperate with House Democrats, something that would trigger his own right-wing contingent to undermine his leadership. McCarthy is just as complicit as the rest of them.
The ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes famously searched for an honest man with a lantern. However, in this case, we don’t even need to search for extreme honesty; we simply require a man with a modicum of steadfastness. Sadly, it seems we’ll continue searching.
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