In a pivotal legislative win for taxpayers and President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda, the House of Representatives last week passed a sweeping budget package of conservative reforms — representing one of the most consequential policy shifts in a generation.
Dubbed the Big Beautiful Bill, the legislation includes broad measures on taxation, border security, energy production, and government reform — all passed without a single Democratic vote.
Alaska Congressman Nick Begich, a first-term Republican, hailed the bill as “a game-changer for working families and small businesses in Alaska and across America.”
The Anchorage Daily News report on his vote criticized the bill as an attack on the poor, a characterization that Begich condemned as a “predictable, partisan hit job.”
“Last year, voters gave Republicans a clear mandate: cut reckless spending, secure the border, and grow our economy — and we delivered,” Begich said in a statement on X, in response to the newspaper’s coverage.
Both Anchorage Daily News reporter Iris Samuels and Begich’s own uncle, Tom Begich — a Democrat and former state senator — attacked the congressman for his vote. Tom Begich blasted his nephew in a column that ran in the same newspaper.
Key Provisions of the Bill Include:
- $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction, the largest spending cut in nearly three decades, achieved without affecting core benefits for traditional Medicaid recipients or food assistance for low-income Americans.
- Work requirements for Medicaid among able-bodied adults starting in 2026, with exemptions for the elderly, Native populations, parents of young children, and regions with high unemployment. These requirements, which begin by Dec. 31, 2026, apply to able-bodied adults without dependents or disabilities, aged 19 to 64. To maintain coverage, recipients must work, volunteer, or engage in education at least 80 hours per month — less than 19 hours per week.
- Permanent extension of Trump-era tax cuts, including the elimination of taxes on tips, overtime pay, and car loan interest — provisions Republicans argue will ease burdens on middle- and working-class Americans.
- $144 billion in defense spending, aimed at bolstering U.S. military readiness amid rising global threats.
- Over $140 billion for border security, which Republicans call the “strongest in U.S. history.”
- Major energy reforms to expand domestic production and reduce regulatory barriers, with the goal of increasing American energy independence and lowering consumer costs.
The Medicaid provisions are designed to protect the most vulnerable while restoring accountability and eliminating fraud. Importantly, the bill maintains eligibility for those actively seeking work or employed but still living in poverty. By reducing fraud, Republicans argue the program becomes more sustainable.
“Medicaid integrity is restored without harming those who need it,” said Begich. “This is compassionate reform –not cuts.”
All House Democrats voted against the bill. Republicans countered that the bill targets only expansion populations, not traditional Medicaid enrollees such as the elderly, disabled, or children. They also noted that most able-bodied recipients are already working.
The Anchorage Daily News claimed the legislation would harm vulnerable Alaskans and entrench income inequality. Begich called this “ideological spin” and said the outlet ignored the bill’s targeted exemptions for Alaska Native populations and high-unemployment regions.
“Alaskans aren’t fooled by leftist media narratives,” Begich wrote on social media. “This bill protects our people, boosts our economy, and respects our unique status.”
Medicaid fraud is difficult to quantify due to its multilayered nature, much of which involves providers, insurers, and other companies. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reported a 2024 improper payment rate for Medicaid of 5.09%, equating to roughly $31.1 billion of the $611 billion in total Medicaid spending.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, health expenditures make up roughly 32% of the average state’s budget.
A 2024 HHS Office of Inspector General report estimates that beneficiary fraud accounts for about 2% of convictions and 0.1% of financial recoveries in Medicaid fraud cases — a likely undercount of actual abuse.
Provider fraud accounts for the remaining 98% of convictions and is also addressed in the bill.
CMS’s Payment Error Rate Measurement data estimates improper payments in Medicaid, including both administrative errors and potential fraud. The 2024 figure of 5.09% is widely considered to underrepresent the problem.
According to the Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE), Section 110206 of the bill cuts $625 billion in fraud and abuse over a decade — money currently lost to ineligible recipients and bureaucratic waste.
DOGE stated the bill’s framework ensures taxpayer dollars prioritize vulnerable groups like seniors and disabled Americans by redirecting funds from administrative overhead to actual care. Work requirements (Section 110004) target able-bodied adults “gaming the system,” not single mothers or those genuinely in need.
With 42% of Medicaid improper payments stemming from eligibility errors (per 2023 HHS audits), the bill’s provisions aim to protect the program’s long-term integrity.
While the budget bill passed the House, its fate in the Senate remains uncertain.
Still, the House passage of the Big Beautiful Bill marks a defining moment. With extensive provisions for Alaska’s economic future — spanning oil, gas, mining, and timber — the bill could have an impact comparable to the legislation that authorized the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.
“I’ve always said: American prosperity starts in Alaska — and the Big Beautiful Bill puts America First and Alaska back on the map,” Congressman Begich said.
Nick is partially correct. Informed Alaskans won’t be fooled. Unfortunately, the misinformed/misguided ones will keep on spouting the nonsense. Many of the left conveniently forget that the work requirement originated with their favorite grafter in chief Bill Clinton, and it produced good results. Thank you for presenting the facts.
Nick, that stuff , you didnt do.
Your representing alaska.
Hanging around dc , and voting.
One thing.
But your letting fishing die.
Peter pan , trident, silver bay,
Canada bought all cannaries with money biden gave trudou .
157 million our tax payer dollars .
And canada own our fish.
You should of stopped that.
Can someone explain to me why natives are exempted?
I imagine it’s because they already have medical care provided by the government as it is.
Because they are special.
Noble savages until the evil white man appeared and ended their slave trade, incest, warfare against one another, and doubled their life span.
White man bad.
Native good and special.
Blame Uncle Ted. Im sure, even a tenderfoot such as yourself, has heard of him.
Thank you Uncle Ted.
It’s because Native Americans (Indians) are guaranteed, by treaty (& the Snyder Act – 1921) to receive health care from the US Federal Government. Should the United states break those treaties Done?
DOGE found two fraudulent social security applications out of 110,000, meanwhile Donald Trump’s family made $380 million off of meme coin sales and hosted Chinese investors at a Mar o Lago dinner. You get what you elect
Two fraudulent Social Security applications? Try 9.9 Million Social Security recipients over the age of 120.
‘https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/social-security-conducting-major-records-cleanup-marking-7m-listed-age-120-deceased
We get what we elect. In the case of Donald Trump and NB3 … thank God!
That’s not true.
Nice job selectively identifying only (and I mean ONLY) the data that minimizes the fraud.
Well done.
.
Oh… and what difference does it make what business President Trump’s family is involved in. I notice a total lack of concern about family business dealings from you during the last administration. Weird that now it is a problem.
.
Then again… what do we expect from an anonymous troll. Does anyone seriously believe your name is actually Frank?
Does anyone seriously think your name is CBMTTek?
For someone who has been on MRAK s long as you have, I’m surprised you didn’t get the reference.
Frankie here dismisses any post he disagrees with as invalid because they are not using their real name. I like to remind him we have zero proof of his name.
I have always found your posts to be accurate if not biased. However, don’t you see the irony in your post when you also have an anonymous name?
Exactly!
That’s exactly why I continue to point out Frank’s inane claims about anon posts.
I find your remark towards CB to be hilariously hypocritical. Every single one of your posts is not only heavily biased, but full of nothing but pure conjecture.
Frank is now just making things up whole cloth.
Reality is over here if you can ever abide it Frank. Probably not.
Comparing apples and oranges.
The Anchorage Daily News prints this garbage . What’s amazing to me that the Binkley family owns the ADN and always claimed to be Conservative and now own that crummy paper ? They are not conservative and never were . The ADN exposes it all . Several years ago I was kicked out of commenting , I quit reading it . Then at a weak moment gave them a $100 for access . I still don’t have access on the device a I paid on and use every day . Screw you ADN and screw you the owners !
A LOT MORE CUTS IN SPENDING NEEDED !!!
‘https://x.com/CitizenFreePres/status/1926684412072087594
‘https://x.com/TheMaineWonk/status/1926674716980347295
Anchorage Daily News?
Are they still in business?
No one reads that – irrelevant as CNN.
He says “Alaskans aren’t fooled by leftist media narratives”.
But, they are fooled and that’s why they keep voting leftist idiots into the Alaska legislature.
It was only a miracle that got Begich into the US Congress given that Peltola was there before him.
Left leaning?! You mean the Anchorage version of Pravda?!
Guess the wild liberal Senator Ron Johnson from Wisconsin is off base on his comments on the House’s budget. Debt does matter.
Takes some nerve to use the term “deficit reduction” in relation to this bill.
That’s politics for you.
The actual result of the legislation rarely matches the intent. And it’s almost always the opposite of the title
So you’re saying it doesn’t increase the debt by $4 trillion?
Not at all.
The statement is laws tend to result in the opposite of the intent. This law has deficit spending in it with the intent revenues will increase. And the opposite of that is?
You make an excellent point, but during trumps first term, he claimed that his tax cuts would result in massive economic growth. That never happened and it won’t happen with this bill either.
Nope
It’s hard to argue against a work requirement, but for some reason it was a complete failure in Arkansas, the first state to have that requirement several years ago.
If the work requirement is linked to a budget reduction, it’s not intended to get people to work, but to save money. The truth is that people will go to the doctor anyway, they will just go to the emergency room, which passes the cost onto the rest of us in higher insurance premiums.
The BBB is loaded w/ spending!!
I give up, we elect politicians and, according to party, they just change the things they waste money on.
My wife renewed her CNA certificate when Bill Clinton required Medicaid recipients to take a job or get job training. Half her class was those required students. You would not want your relatives to be in their care- lazy, always late, sloppy, bad attitude, etc. But it is still a good idea- better to teach a man to fish than to have to feed him forever. As to the natives, my native in-laws say there are too many freebies and many young people have no desire to work.
Show of hands: does anyone actually read any printed newspaper anymore?
Does anyone actually subscribe to the ADN website?