NEW YORK – On Mar 4th, Mike Lawler penned an op-ed in the New York Post doubling down on his support for House Republicans’ budget that includes billions of dollars in cuts to Medicaid and food assistance programs his constituents rely on. Lawler is proudly owning Republicans’ reckless budget proposal that puts health care and food assistance on the chopping block in order to fund tax breaks for his billionaire donors.

The facts are clear: It is mathematically impossible for Republicans to meet the requirements of their budget resolution that Lawler voted for last week without gutting Medicaid and ripping away health care.

New York Times: “Mathematically, the budget committee’s instructions mean the committee would need to make major cuts to either Medicare, Medicaid or both. Congressional leadership has been signaling that Medicaid has been the main focus. … If the budget resolution is going to become public policy, it will require legislation that cuts health programs.”

Crain’s New York: “‘Astronomical’ cuts in House budget bill could devastate New York’s Medicaid program”

Bobby Kogan, Center for American Progress: “Not only have House Republicans admitted their intentions, but the simple math of their budget resolution makes cutting these programs necessary. … We know the true targets of this budget resolution, because the author — House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington, R-Texas — released a document in January specifying program cuts. And guess what that list featured: hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts to Medicaid and SNAP. The math the House voted to approve is also impossible without deep cuts to Medicaid and nearly impossible without cuts to SNAP.”

Washington Post: “The House-passed budget proposal pretty clearly requires cutting Medicaid, and that’s a big political problem. … Republicans will need to get more specific if they want to pay for extending Trump’s tax cuts. And both the math and their comments make clear that will involve significant Medicaid cuts.”

Sahil Kupar, NBC News: “[The Republican budget] tells Energy & Commerce Cmte, which oversees Medicaid, to find cuts of $880 billion. Republicans openly say spending less on Medicaid will be part of that.”