Marsha Blackburn: ‘There Is a Lot of Support for Sending Medicaid Back to the States’

EXCERPT:

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RYAN: "The House passed the biggest entitlement reform bill ever passed by a Congress in May, our healthcare bill. Unfortunately the Senate fell basically a vote short from doing that. So what are we going to do in 2018? We're going to pick up where we left off and get back at reforming healthcare. We're going to get back at reforming these entitlements and we're going to take on welfare reform, which is another big entitlement program."
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BANDERAS: "Speaker Ryan there promising entitlement reform in the new year, but that might be easier said than done as it looks to run into stiff obstacles from members of his own party in the Senate like Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Joining me now, Tennessee Republican Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn. Great to see you again, two days in a row, what a treat. First of all, why do you think Paul Ryan is so adamant about this?"
BLACKBURN: "This is where so much of the increase in federal spending is because basically it’s on autopilot. So absolutely members of the House want to address the healthcare issues, Medicaid and, of course, I think there is a lot of support for sending Medicaid back to the states. In Tennessee, when I talked to our state elected officials, they say send it to us, we’ll do a better job. And then also as Speaker Ryan mentioned the welfare benefit. Looking at these programs, looking at the verification process for entering into these programs, and working on how you go about with these benefits being given out. And I -- I think that giving more of this responsibility to the states, to social workers that are in the counties that know how to verify, know families, know who is truly in need, this is how we are going to get a handle on making certain that the programs and the benefits are going to the people who qualify and who need these benefits."