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House GOP Budget Plan Cuts Nearly $380B Over 10 Years

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    Rep. Dave Camp, (R-Mich.), on efforts to reduce the government’s debt.

  • Duration 6:40
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Battle over the budget heating up as our debt piles up.

Republican congressman Dave Camp of Michigan believe me now with the latest from the hill congressman welcome back to the show great to see you again.

House GOP legislation is calling for cuts to spending of 300 billion dollars over a decade.

Is it enough.

Well it's -- start and we gotta go somewhere and as you say debt is killing jobs our debt is now 100% of our GDP.

As we heard from the Simpson Bowles commission when that -- that level it suppresses economic growth by about 1% that's about a million jobs.

We need to have a plan this is -- start I think it's -- important start we have to get our -- under control and this puts us on record -- how to do it.

The Democrats though say that.

The Republicans are cutting important programs.

Such as food stamps and other social service programs limiting the child tax credit -- having federal workers and -- more to pensions.

-- you guys heartless.

But some of these programs have grown for example for instance for 300% over the last decade and we can't sustain the level spending we've got.

Many these are duplicative certainly my committee's jurisdiction.

A lot of these programs are being done and other places and in government there's dozens of programs that do the same things so.

Part of this is trying to get a handle on this mass of them on the spending.

Yes we need a social safety net no doubt about that -- are we duplicating those.

That that spending in other places throughout government we think there's some room to cut this represents about 1%.

Federal spending over a ten year period is that is it enough I think we should be doing more but it's a start and we need to start somewhere.

Should defense cuts be on the table.

Well we are going to be cutting defense but we need to reorder the priorities.

And make sure that we don't -- a -- -- force that we are able to defend this nation that is certainly constitutional.

Responsibility so there will be reductions.

In defense just not as much as would have been the case had we not.

Taken this adjustment that we're gonna do -- really trying to balance out where those those reductions are going to be.

-- says that the Australians can have a budget surplus while we are wallowing in debt and we show our viewers some numbers here.

Federal -- right now fifteen point six trillion since the president came in office it's up 47%.

It was ten point six trillion.

When he reached stop us.

How can they be doing so well we're doing so badly.

Well we've had many decades of spending more than we brought -- and we need to change that and the real difficult he has been at the the rate of spending is rated debt has dramatically increased in recent years and so we really do need.

To find ways to reduce not only the spending we've -- on with the mandatory spending.

This vote this week -- help reduce that mandatory side which grows it you know.

-- have an interest -- factor each and every year there's duplication there.

We've we've had dramatic growth in those areas certainly need to have that safety net in place that we can't sustain this that the current levels we've got to think about.

The future we've got to think about the economy's ability to grow and create jobs and this level -- suppressing that economic growth and costing us about a million jobs.

Well at the end of the day though it.

We're really gonna have to start talking about entitlement programs because that's where the real -- is right.

Well this is mandatory spending these are entitlement programs.

Food stamps and others are entitlements we're beginning that that discussion with this vote this week.

Well I -- Social Security Medicare Medicaid and that's -- yes or topix the president doesn't even want to address.

Absolutely.

You obviously our budget took a look at how do we make Medicare sustainable for the long term.

You we haven't seen a budget out of the senate certainly wasn't addressed in the president's approach and frankly his budget -- no votes when it was presented on and on Capitol Hill so.

We we do we we do need to Begin that discussion we are trying to do that by setting a plan forward and done that we voted on it did get bipartisan support by the way in the house.

I wouldn't you want to a different topic and this is obamacare.

And the potential impact on private employers all all across the country.

-- essentially makes it cheaper for private companies -- their private health plans and you came up with some real hard numbers on what that might look like.

It would save companies 422.

Billion dollars between 2014.

And 20/20 three to simply.

Get rid of their coverage would be cheaper for them to drop it under Obama care -- to sustain it.

Tell us about that now.

Well as time goes on we're learning more about the health care bill and one is a perverse incentive that section be cheaper for companies.

To drop health care coverage pay the penalty built into the bill rather than the provided in -- over 400.

Billion dollars over ten year period for the top hundred companies so there's clearly.

It's gonna be impossible to keep your health care if you like it obviously it's a that's a real concern about this perverse incentive.

That was built into the healthcare bill -- -- to drop coverage and pay the fine it is to provide it.

I think this is one of another now many problems that we're finding out as we learn more and more about this healthcare legislation.

Well -- eat out.

Our objection all along has been and we can't afford it that it's in new entitlement essentially.

That will cost the federal government too much money do you agree.

At the cost of the bills double that was a trillion dollar bill now there is estimating it's -- two trillion dollar bill so the cost of this one piece of legislation is double.

And it's actually gonna make it.

An incentive for employers not to offer coverage what we wanna do is try to lower the costs in healthcare this election makes health -- more expensive.

So it's gonna make it less likely that you're gonna have get to keep the kind of plan that you had.

And and that was I thought commitment that was made by the president early on in this process and obviously it's not going to be capped.

You know we all agree there are problems with health care but if there's any prior art of our health care system that's working it seems like -- want it.

Help that get along help that move a -- and instead what obamacare does it with a knife in the heart of the private sector health insurance system.

And really put these employers in the position of wanting to give this up.

Absolutely we we've heard a lot about how the independent payment advisory board fifteen unelected bureaucrats are gonna make.

Medicare decisions for seniors this is the first real.

Spotlight we put on the fact that private employer insurance is gonna suffer as result of this health -- analyst well.

Congressman thanks for coming on the show tonight absolute pleasure having you here thank you thanks Jerry.

And.

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