Fact vs Fiction: Setting the Record Straight on Don Bacon’s Twitter Meltdown

Don Bacon spent much of the Memorial Day Weekend having a meltdown and spewing misinformation in reaction to hundreds of his constituents protesting his vote to rip away Medicaid and SNAP from Nebraska families.

Fiction: Bacon claims that Nebraska SNAP recipients will see no reduction in benefits and states will pick up the difference in reduced funding.

Fact: Nebraska’s low error rate still leaves the state footing the bill for an additional $50 million every year. Bacon’s vote isn’t saving taxpayers any money – Nebraskans are actually set to pay up to $95 million more per year due to the changes. Now, the federal government simply isn’t paying their fair share and states will likely have to reduce benefits to make up the difference.

Bacon’s vote also redefines a dependent child to mean only children under the age of 7, meaning thousands of elementary school-aged children in Nebraska could see their food access ripped away.

Fiction: Bacon claims that Medicaid recipients will see no reduction in their benefits and that 2.6 million Medicaid recipients are either illegal or ineligible.

Fact: While a majority of Medicaid recipients already work, Bacon’s vote forces recipients to jump through numerous hoops and navigate increased red-tape designed to keep eligible people from getting coverage.

The bill will also force recipients to pay copays for the first time on many types of health care, creating even more costs for Nebraskans.

Additionally, it is already illegal for federal Medicaid funding to go towards covering people who are in the country illegally.

Fiction: Bacon claims that voting “no” on Republicans’ Tax Breaks for Billionaires bill would have increased taxes for Nebraskans.

Fact: Much of the ‘savings’ Bacon is hiding behind will be actually offset by provisions in the bill that will exempt the lowest-earning families from claiming the full child tax credit, increase health care premiums, kick thousands off Medicaid, and reduce SNAP benefits. 35% of households in the state make less than $50,000 – and those families will actually see their after-tax income decrease by about $940.

Meanwhile, households worth over $1 million will get more than $80,000 in tax cuts and the top .1% of Americans will see their after-tax income increase by $390,000. 

DCCC Spokesperson Madison Andrus:
“Don Bacon is watching his political future fade away in front of his very eyes – and he’s not handling it well. Maybe next time, instead of trying to lie to his constituents, Bacon will actually stand up to extremist GOP leaders in Washington instead of just paying lip service. Unfortunately, anything more than grandstanding has never been Bacon’s strong suit.”

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