House Republican Conference Chairman Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) didn’t hesitate a second when asked during the GOP congressional retreat in Orlando March 20 by Punchbowl co-founder Jake Sherman how she and her colleagues “can balance the budget without touching entitlements and mandatory spending” in 2023.
“I believe that when we focus on Social Security and Medicare, those are important programs that we must protect for current seniors and for future generations. Any type of modernization efforts will have to be done on a bipartisan basis,” Stefanik replied. She also agreed when Sherman suggested “now is not the time” for such actions.
“Those are off the table now, the Speaker has been very clear on that and I support the Speaker’s decision on that. Where I think we can find real savings is looking at every department to find potential savings. Every committee chair has been tasked to do so by the Speaker and whether it’s unspent COVID funds, which is low-hanging fruit, to have some fiscal responsibility,” she continued….