FACT CHECK: "Strengthening" the Safety Net?

At today’s House Budget Committee hearing today on “Strengthening the Safety Net,” Republicans continued to make the claim that their budget strengthens the social safety net.

FACT CHECK: The idea that decimating programs will save them is truly Orwellian – it’s like throwing an anchor at a person who is drowning.

The Republican budget slashes Medicaid by $810 billion and cuts food assistance to low-income families by $134 billion. Additionally, it is impossible to make the additional cuts that they are suggesting without further hitting low-income families – for example, the GOP budget cuts at least $104 billion from Pell grants that help the neediest students pursue higher education. This doesn’t strengthen the social safety net – it shreds it. And at the same time, the Republican budget provides a windfall tax break to the very wealthy and special interests.