In remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) spoke about the federal debt and the work of DOGE.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Since Inauguration Day, President Trump has been hard at work addressing one of the biggest threats that our nation faces.
00:08That is our $36 trillion debt.
00:11Unlike the last administration, the Trump administration has been very vocal.
00:17They are choosing to save the taxpayer money.
00:21And I will have to say so far, they have had a tremendous amount of success.
00:29Now, I know some of my colleagues want to complain about Doge, and they're not fond of the Department of Government efficiency.
00:39I think it is worthy to note that Doge, so far, has identified more than $140 billion in potential savings for the American people.
00:52Now, they have found this by going into each department, working with the secretaries of the different departments, the heads of the agencies.
01:03And they're reviewing unused federal leases, federal contracts, and they're saving billions.
01:13They're even able to find a savings in some of these anti-American DEI programs.
01:23Every American should be celebrating this effort that saves them money.
01:31Government has not one penny to spend until the taxpayer sends the money.
01:38Every dollar is taxpayer money.
01:42It is not federal money.
01:47The federal government does not create this.
01:51It is taxpayer money.
01:53And so taxpayers should be celebrating the elimination of waste, fraud, and abuse.
01:59It is essential that we go through this process, that we right-size government, that we utilize technology,
02:08and that we ensure that this country remains free, independent, sovereign, and solvent.
02:17Yet, for weeks, we have seen our colleagues on the other side of the aisle choose to stand up and attack President Trump's efforts to rein in federal spending
02:30and to make government transparent and accountable to the people.
02:35Mr. President, again, it's an issue of who is paying the bill for this.
02:42It is the American people.
02:44And if you're paying the bill, you want to know what is it that you're paying for.
02:52And this has been so interesting to me, to see my colleagues on the other side of the aisle object to DOGE
03:02and object to saving federal money, object to wise stewardship of federal resources,
03:12and then to attack, attack, attack, attack.
03:16Many of these attacks are disconnected from reality.
03:22Recently, the Democrats have landed on a new line.
03:27And we've heard them repeat this over and over.
03:30Now, their new line is that Republicans in the Trump administration are using DOGE to cut Social Security benefits for our nation's seniors.
03:43Well, nothing could be further than the truth.
03:48It is Republicans and President Trump that are seeking to save, to save Social Security.
04:00Last month, in this very chamber, the Senate Democratic leader claimed that, and I quote him,
04:09the goal of Trump and Elon Musk is to destroy Social Security from within, end quote.
04:17Well, nothing could be further than the truth.
04:21To help our Democrat colleagues to understand this issue, I've pulled together a fact sheet that makes one thing clear.
04:31While eliminating wasteful spending, improper payments, fraud in the system, Republicans are protecting Social Security,
04:45Medicare, and Medicaid for the beneficiaries for which it is intended.
04:52See, Mr. President, our colleagues across the aisle have this completely backward.
04:58And they've been pushing these talking points off to the mainstream media, to some of the leftists that are out protesting.
05:08If you accept the status quo on Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, basically what you are saying is,
05:16hey, I'm okay if you waste money.
05:19I'm okay if you make improper payments.
05:22I'm okay if you allow fraud and deception.
05:26I'm okay if you let the trust fund run dry.
05:34I'm okay if you cut benefits.
05:37In essence, that is what they're saying because they're accepting the status quo.
05:43But repeatedly, we remind people it is Republicans who are trying to save Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid because we're rooting out waste, fraud, abuse,
06:01and making certain that those benefits should go to the people that deserve them.
06:09But this shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody.
06:12We have been saying, let's preserve these programs and let's make them stronger.
06:18Let's make certain that scammers and fraudsters don't have access to taxpayer money.
06:27Now, just last month, the president said, and I'm going to quote him,
06:34I'm not going to touch Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid.
06:38Now, we're going to get fraud out of there.
06:42Everybody wants us to get the fraud out, and therefore, you'll make it better, end quote.
06:49That is exactly what we are doing.
06:53By eliminating waste and fraud, the administration is strengthening these essential programs.
07:01For example, Doge confirmed that 1.3 million individuals who secured a fraudulent Social Security number also received Medicare benefits.
07:14Now, that is stealing money from individuals that are entitled, rightfully, to the benefits.
07:27So, if you've got 1.3 million individuals that have a fraudulent Social Security number,
07:35and they've also signed up for Medicare, they should be removed from the program
07:42because they are not entitled to be on that program.
07:49Doge also sifted out 10 million cases where Social Security number holders were over the age of 120.
07:59Now, this should raise alarms.
08:02I don't know how many, if any, Americans are 120 years of age or older,
08:13but we do know that there are 10 million cases
08:19where there are Social Security number holders that are over 120 years old.
08:28The right thing to do is to find out, if you've got people that say they're 150, 165, 200 years,
08:39even one that is listed as 300 years old, we need to be investigating this
08:46and find out who's getting the check and who is cashing that check
08:51because that person is not entitled to that check, which, by the way, it is paid with taxpayer money.
09:02When I talk with Tennesseans, they want to make certain that people who deserve the benefits are getting the benefits.
09:10And people that are scammers and liars and fraudsters and are ripping off the federal government,
09:18that they get prosecuted for the way they're ripping off the federal government.
09:24Now, President Trump is determined to strengthen these programs,
09:30and Senate Republicans have promised to deliver relief to senior citizens by cutting taxes on Social Security benefits.
09:40Today, nearly 56 percent of retirees pay taxes on their Social Security benefits
09:50as inflation pushes seniors' benefits into higher and higher income brackets.
09:57This is inexcusable because people have paid into that.
10:02We had a lieutenant governor in Tennessee at one point.
10:06He would sum this up, Mr. President, by saying no one should ever be paying taxes on taxes.
10:14People have paid into Social Security.
10:17And then, as they retire, they're going to get this money back.
10:22And for the past few years, I've worked on legislation.
10:25It's called the Retiree's First Act.
10:28It would address this problem by lowering the tax burden on Social Security benefits for seniors.
10:36by raising the provisional income threshold.
10:41Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid are essential programs for millions of Tennesseans.
10:49It is appropriate that we exempt out seniors from paying income tax on those Social Security benefits.
10:59It is appropriate that we make certain that these programs are there for the beneficiaries for which they're intended.
11:10And it is appropriate that we ask our colleagues across the aisle to join us in making certain these programs are strengthened, not weakened.
11:21I yield the floor.
11:23I yield the floor.