When asked if Republicans would be willing to drop work requirements, Graves replied, “Hell no. Not a chance. Not happening.”
McCarthy called tightening work requirements a “philosophical difference” between the White House and House Republicans. He and Graves have argued that getting more people back into the workforce would support Social Security and Medicare’s finances because more payroll tax revenue would flow into those trust funds.
“If you’re against work requirements, you’re supporting the idea of borrowing money from China, paying people who are … healthy without dependents to sit on the couch, and then they don’t pay any Social Security or Medicare,” McCarthy said Friday .
Democrats are pushing back against the changes, arguing they would hit the neediest the hardest. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that provisions in the House-passed debt limit bill would cause about 600,000 people to lose health insurance because of the Medicaid changes, while 275,000 would lose access to SNAP benefits.
House Agriculture Ranking Member David Scott urged Biden in a statement Friday to “hold the line” against the expanded work requirements, particularly those on SNAP, which he argued would further exacerbate food insecurity.
