April 7, 1997

Clinton This Year Proposes Less Spending Than Congress Did Last Year

"You remember that budget I vetoed last year because it had

excessive cuts in.... Medicaid..."

President Clinton at a campaign rally, Green Bay, Wisconsin, 9/2/96

"The budget would reform Medicaid...while preserving the guarantee of high-quality health care...for the most vulnerable Americans...[and] would ensure that as we control the costs of Medicaid, we do not compromise what is right with the program."

President Clinton's FY 1998 budget, 2/6/97

Although President Clinton said he would not compromise on what's right about Medicaid, that hasn't stopped him from compromising on the truth. The Balanced Budget Act (BBA) Clinton vetoed in 1995 did not have Medicaid "cuts," but in fact increased spending each year. Meanwhile, the 1996 legislation Congress passed to implement a balanced budget had even more Medicaid spending -- more spending in fact than does President Clinton's latest budget.

In short, the entire time that President Clinton was attacking Congress over Medicaid, he was ignoring Congress's actual proposal while formulating his own that would result in $15 billion less in Medicaid spending. And, he claims his lower figure would "preserve" high-quality health care and "ensure" no compromises on "what is right."

• In 1996, President Clinton was hiding his opposition to a balanced budget by attacking what he called "excessive cuts" in Medicaid by Congress.
• In fact, the 104th Congress never passed any bill that ever contained Medicaid "cuts," much less "excessive" ones.

• During this time, President Clinton was ignoring legislation passed by Congress that increased Medicaid spending even more -- to $626 billion from FY98-02.
• Meanwhile, President Clinton was developing his own budget for the next year that would amount to less Medicaid spending than Congress was currently proposing -- his amounts to $611 billion from FY98-02.

Comparing the Numbers

Medicaid Spending Totals

(in billions of dollars)

	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	Total
CBO Medicaid Baseline	115.4	126.4	138.2	151.5	166.4	697.9
Congress's Budget Resolution Savings						-72.0
Congress's Budget Resolution Spending						626
Clinton FY98 Budget	107.1	115.2	121.4	129.3	138.0	611

At the same time, President Clinton was trying to hide his opposition to a balanced budget by attacking Congress's, he was ignoring Congress's budget proposal on Medicaid contained in the budget resolution (H.Con.Res. 178), and passed months earlier -- on June 13, 1996. The budget resolution provided for Medicaid spending of $626 billion during the FY1998-2002 period. Furthermore, he was developing a Medicaid plan that would produce Medicaid spending at levels below Congress's -- to $611 billion.

The Depths of Demagoguery and Duplicity

While the President has been saying he wants to work with Congress to balance the budget by 2002, he has been working to make that more difficult. No episode makes the point clearer than his actions on Congress's Medicaid proposals.

• First, Clinton falsely stated that Congress's 1995 Balanced Budget Act contained "excessive cuts" in Medicaid. In fact, neither the 1995 BBA nor any legislation Congress passed leading up to it ever cut Medicaid at all.

• Second, Clinton deliberately ignored what was then Congress's current Medicaid proposal (H.Con.Res. 178) which had been passed months before his false attacks. Congress's plan contained even higher levels of Medicaid spending than the 1995 BBA.

• Third, at the same time Clinton was developing his own proposal that would spend $15 billion less over five years than would Congress's FY97 budget resolution.

This example with Medicaid serves as a reminder of the history that has long existed between President Clinton's statements and his actions on the budget. Simply put, it's a "disconnect."