Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst (R) pushed back against constituents who shouted out at her recent town hall meeting that cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would cause people to die, responding, “Well, we’re all going to die.”
The awkward moment came at a town hall meeting on Friday in Butler, Iowa, while Ernst defended the spending reforms in a House-passed budget reconciliation package that are intended to stop people who crossed into the country illegally from receiving federal benefits.
Someone in the crowd tried to talk over Ernst, interrupting her answer about changes to Medicaid and SNAP, yelling out that people are “going to die” because of the reforms. Ernst answered: “Well, we’re all going to die.”
That quip produced a raucous jeer from the crowd.
“For heaven’s sakes. For heaven’s sakes, folks,” Ernst said, expressing frustration about some people in the crowd not listening to her explanations of the goals of the reforms.
“What you don’t want to do is listen to me when I say that we are going to focus on those that are most vulnerable,” she said. “Those that meet the eligibility requirements for Medicaid, we will protect. We will protect them.”
Ernst emphasized: “Medicaid is extremely important here in the state of Iowa.”
“If you don’t want to listen, that’s fine. But what I’m doing is going through and telling you that those that are not eligible, those that are working and have opportunity for benefits elsewhere, then they should receive those benefits elsewhere and leave those dollars for those that are eligible for Medicaid,” she said.
And Ernst also said “SNAP overpayments that the states have been making will need to stop.”
She said the reforms in the reconciliation bill are intended to root out overpayments and the payment of benefits to people who are not eligible for federal assistance under the law.
“When you are arguing about illegals that are receiving Medicaid benefits, 1.4 million, they’re not eligible, so they will be coming off,” Ernst said at one point, finishing the sentence over shouts of protest from the crowd.
A spokesperson for Ernst said the senator is focused on “improving the lives of all Iowans” and accused Democrats of trying to whip up fear among voters for political reasons.
“While Democrats fearmonger against strengthening the integrity of Medicaid, Senator Ernst is focused on improving the lives of all Iowans,” the spokesperson said.
“There’s only two certainties in life: death and taxes, and she’s working to ease the burden of both by fighting to keep more of Iowans’ hard-earned tax dollars in their own pockets and ensuring their benefits are protected from waste, fraud, and abuse,” the aide added.
Updated at 12:36 p.m.
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