Rep. Jodey Arrington says reconciliation needed to fund troops, curb alleged fraud and advance tax, voter-ID measures

Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas and chair of the House Committee on the Budget, said a new reconciliation package is both possible and necessary to address what he described as large amounts of waste and to fund the military.

"Larry, we've got uh about a trillion dollars from the first reconciliation in waste, fraud, and abuse," Arrington said, adding that there are "hundreds of billions more according to GAO," and citing hospice fraud in California and Minnesota as examples. He framed confronting that alleged fraud as one driver for pursuing a follow-on reconciliation bill.

Arrington also told the host that supplemental resourcing for U.S. troops will require reconciliation because, he said, Democrats "are not going to help us" on some appropriations matters. "So, we're going to need reconciliation to fund the troops," he said.

Beyond fraud and defense funding, Arrington identified portions of health care and housing policy from the Joe Biden administration as potential reconciliation targets to address affordability concerns. He described the moment as "historic" and urged action while there is time.

When the host noted Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith's interest in tax cuts and mentioned proposals for voter photo ID and the Save America Act, Arrington said those items could be included. "We can do the Save Act and and we do it creatively uh by providing some incentives for states uh to to use these programs," he said, and added that voter-ID proposals are among several "integrity measures" under consideration.

Arrington defended the tax changes enacted in the previous reconciliation package as pro-growth: "what we did in the first uh reconciliation bill on tax... has got the economy growing. We got more money in the in the pockets of the American people." He said lower oil prices could further accelerate growth but acknowledged remaining affordability challenges that lawmakers could address.

The host closed the segment by praising Arrington's optimism and thanking him for the interview.

The comments summarized here are drawn from the recorded program. Claims about the scale of waste and GAO findings are reported as Arrington asserted them on the program and were not independently verified in this interview.