Dem Rep. Smith: Need Money for Infrastructure, We Should ‘Get Rid of’ All of New Tax Cuts to Pay for Medicaid, ACA

On Friday’s broadcast of MS NOW’s “The Last Word,” Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) said that more money is needed for infrastructure and other things, “But meanwhile, the Republicans cut taxes by $4 trillion,” and “We can’t keep borrowing to fix all of the problems that we face. So, when we restore the Medicaid cuts and restore the ACA cuts, as we should well do. I personally think we should get rid of the whole bill, including the tax cuts that were put in there.”

Smith stated, “There’s no question that we need more money for our infrastructure system, and certainly not just there, the healthcare system, a whole bunch of different systems. But meanwhile, the Republicans cut taxes by $4 trillion, alright? And the debt is $39 trillion and counting, to the point where it is a real problem. If we are going to fix these things — and I’m going to say something that most people don’t want to hear — we’re going to have to find the revenue somewhere, okay. We can’t keep borrowing to fix all of the problems that we face. So, when we restore the Medicaid cuts and restore the ACA cuts, as we should well do. I personally think we should get rid of the whole bill, including the tax cuts that were put in there. We have to be willing to pay for the improvements that we need.”

Smith also said that there are billions of dollars already appropriated for the Department of Transportation that haven’t been spent.

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett