President Joe Biden must work with Congress on making major cuts to government spending rather than continuing in the current standoff over raising the nation's debt ceiling, but Democrats' claims that those cuts will include Medicare and Social Security are a "red herring," Rep. Andy Biggs told Newsmax on Tuesday.
"We have until roughly the third quarter of this year, and that's when the real crisis moment hits, so we've got some time," the Arizona Republican told Newsmax's "Wake Up America," adding that it will be hard to eliminate duplicate programs, but it must be done and that "Congress has got to step up and be a leader on this."
Biggs said House Republicans are calling for several cuts while targeting waste, but said Democrats are making claims about Medicare and Social Security because "they don't want to cut anything."
"You'll see the cartoon of somebody pushing a grandma off the cliff in a wheelchair," Biggs said. "That's just not the case. I haven't heard anybody saying that. What we're talking about is getting at the amount of waste in Washington, D.C., which should be enough to start whacking down our spending."
Biggs said the government has a spending problem, not a revenue problem, which is why the national debt is so high.
"Let's think of the social welfare programs or the social nets that are out there," he said. "I think of things like PBS or the National Endowment of the Arts. These are the low-hanging fruit that people look at and say, Why are we supporting these agencies, where there's already a private sector that is robust and active? That's where you go."
But that doesn't mean the Department of Defense shouldn't be examined, Biggs said.
"A study was done a few years ago that said they waste $100 billion-plus a year," he said. "So you're going to have to find the waste. If you start finding the waste and peeling it back, all of a sudden you realize you don't have to spend so much."
And that, Biggs said, "means you don't have to raise the debt ceiling so often and you can start moving toward a balanced budget."
Biggs on Tuesday also evaluated House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's job performance, giving the California Republican an "A" because he's "kept every promise that he's made."
"He has shown more grit, more determination, and more backbone, and I'm grateful for that and I wish him success," said Biggs. "I want him to be the best speaker ever because it means we'll have a great term."
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