Trump pick for budget director backs Medicare changes, promises debt cuts
WASHINGTON — The firebrand conservative congressman from South Carolina nominated to run President Trump's budget office told Congress on Tuesday that if confirmed, he will make cutting the national debt a top priority. But he also suggested changes to entitlement programs that the new president has not endorsed.
"I believe, as a matter of principle, that the debt is a problem that must be addressed sooner, rather than later," Rep. Mick Mulvaney said at the opening of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Budget Committee. "I also know that fundamental changes are necessary in the way Washington spends and taxes if we truly want a healthy economy. This must include changing our government’s long-term fiscal path — which is unsustainable."
While Republicans on the panel were generally supportive of Mulvaney's nomination, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., kicked off the opposition with blunt criticism of Mulvaney's previous support for cutting Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare benefits. Sanders, the former Democratic candidate for president, noted that Trump promised not to cut such safety net retirement and health insurance programs during the campaign.
"In my view the opinions and ideas of Mr. Mulvaney are way out of touch with what the American people want, and more importantly ... way, way out of touch with what President Trump campaigned on," Sanders said. "It does not make sense to me a key adviser to the president having views directly in opposition to what the president campaigned on."
For example, Mulvaney testified that he would support means-testing Medicare benefits and raising the retirement age in order to save Medicare and Social Security for future generations.
"The only thing I know to do is to tell the president the truth," Mulvaney said.
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Mulvaney clarified that entitlement reforms he proposes would only affect people still working, not those currently on Medicare or Social Security.
"This is about trying to preserve those programs," he said.
Mulvaney was also confronted with questions about his failure to pay taxes on a babysitter he employed from 2000 to 2004 after he and his wife had triplets.
Mulvaney said the mistake was discovered two days after Trump nominated him for the Office of Management and Budget job, and he immediately took steps to correct it. He has paid $15,583 in back taxes and will pay further penalties and interest once they are calculated.
"We made a mistake in my family ... and we took every step to fix it," Mulvaney testified.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a member of the Budget Committee, introduced Mulvaney at the start of the hearing and pleaded with Democrats to allow Trump to put his team in place.
"(Mulvaney) has made it his life’s work to understand what is wrong with our government and is dedicated to fixing it," Graham said.
Mulvaney ran into a Republican critic later Tuesday during a second confirmation hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, when Sen. John McCain sharply challenged Mulvaney's record on defense policy.
McCain, R-Ariz., recited Mulvaney's previous votes to cut the defense budget, withdraw American troops from Europe and Afghanistan and use a government shutdown as a bargaining chip during budget debates.
"I am deeply concerned about your lack of support for our military," McCain said.
McCain called the 2013 shutdown a "shameful chapter."
Mulvaney, 49, was just elected to his fourth term representing a conservative district in the Upstate region of South Carolina, along the border with North Carolina.
He is a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, a rebellious wing of the House GOP that has opposed raising the nation's debt ceiling without deep spending cuts.
"Part of fixing that problem also means taking a hard look at government waste … and then ending it. American taxpayers deserve a government that is efficient, effective, and accountable. American families earn their money honestly; they expect the government to spend it honestly. We owe them that much," Mulvaney said.
Trump nominated Mulvaney on Dec. 17.
Mulvaney's pursuit of spending cuts includes domestic and military programs.
In 2013, Mulvaney proposed an amendment to reduce the Overseas Contingency Operation fund at the Pentagon by $3.5 billion. He argued that the fund, created to finance combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, was unnecessarily increased by $5 billion for to pat for non-war spending.
That same year, he proposed cutting $20.4 billion in federal spending, including from the military, to pay for Hurricane Sandy disaster aid, but the amendment failed.
Mulvaney's record of insisting that federal disaster aid be offset with spending cuts was brought up by Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., who wanted assurances that Mulvaney would not delay financial assistance while he searched for corresponding cuts.
"I do believe there is a proper federal role in dealing with natural disaster relief," Mulvaney said. Knowing that a delay in dispensing aid can be harmful to people during a natural disaster, Mulvaney said, "I can only imagine that will carry a great deal of weight with the president."