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Jun 10, 2023

Would the GOP’s deficit plan cut federal funding to Meals on Wheels? Maybe

CLAIM: Congressional Republicans voted to cut federal funding to Meals on

CLAIM: Congressional Republicans voted to cut federal funding to Meals on Wheels, the non-government organization that delivers meals to the elderly in their homes.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: Missing context. Meals on Wheels receives funding through a part of the federal budget that House Republicans have targeted for spending cuts. But the GOP bill approved by the House doesn't specifically target or even mention the organization, and it remains unclear which programs will ultimately be cut as the legislation doesn't provide details.

THE FACTS: As Congress remains mired in a political showdown over raising the nation's debt limit, social media users are accusing Republicans of seeking to slash a vital lifeline for millions of seniors across the country: the Meals on Wheels program.

Many are sharing a graphic featuring the profile photos of various Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives along with the headline: "217 House Republicans Voted to Cut Meals on Wheels."

The graphic has been widely shared on social media by Democrats, including President Joe Biden and the national Democratic Party in recent days.

"How many of you have received or had a relative who received some form of government assistance somewhere along the way?" a Facebook user wrote in a post that included the graphic. "This is FOOD, one decent, nutritious meal per day for those who need it. Our society just keeps getting crueler."

While it's true the Republican-controlled House has passed legislation calling for steep budget cuts in exchange for raising the debt limit and avoiding a government default, it's not clear which programs will ultimately face cuts, let alone to what degree, say congressional budget experts.

The bill simply calls for capping all so-called "discretionary spending" in the upcoming federal budget year at the same levels set in federal fiscal year 2022, which ended Sept. 30, 2022, noted Richard Arenberg, a political science professor at Brown University in Rhode Island.

Assuming defense spending is spared from the cuts, as Republicans have promised, and that the reductions are otherwise made equally across other departments and programs, it would lead to a roughly 22% reduction to discretionary programs like Meals on Wheels, he said. A White House analysis of the bill shared those figures last month.

But the exact impact to specific programs, Arenberg said, won't be known until the appropriations process, which comes later on.

"In the absence of a detailed budget proposal it is hard to know for sure," he wrote in an email.

Molly Reynolds, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, a think tank based in Washington, agreed.

"What's at the crux of this claim is the fact that the GOP debt limit proposal would cap discretionary spending at FY22 levels but it does not specify at present exactly what would be cut to return spending to those levels," she wrote in an email.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's office on Friday declined to address the specific claims regarding Meals of Wheels, only saying House Republicans will "prioritize spending" in the upcoming appropriations process.

Republicans have already said they don't intend to touch federal spending for military veterans, another bucket of discretionary spending that Democrats have suggested could face dire cuts.

"This bill ensures that overall discretionary spending is capped at the same level the federal government was operating under in December 2022 – just five months ago," McCarthy's office said in a statement.

Meals on Wheels, meanwhile, has sounded the alarm about threats to its funding.

Jenny Young, an organization spokesperson, said Friday that a 22% cut would mean distributing meals to one million fewer seniors each year. The nationwide Meals on Wheels network serves some 2.4 million seniors annually.

It receives roughly 40% of its funding from the federal government through the Older Americans Act, according to a fact sheet Young provided. The remaining 60% comes from donations, grants and state or local sources.

"It could potentially hit Meals on Wheels funding more or less significantly during the appropriations process," Young acknowledged in an email. "But either way, a cut of any kind would be harmful."

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This is part of AP's effort to address widely shared misinformation, including work with outside companies and organizations to add factual context to misleading content that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP.