Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) introduced legislation Thursday designed to prohibit the Biden administration from using Medicaid funds for “gun violence prevention” projects.
Clyde’s bill is titled the Medicaid Funds Integrity Act.
“In September, the Biden-Harris Administration announced new executive orders directing federal agencies to advance its anti-gun agenda,” Rep. Clyde’s office noted in correspondence with Breitbart News. “Among other measures, the Administration stated the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will allow states to use Medicaid to pay for counseling on ‘firearm safety.'”
The Medicaid Fund Integrity Act would prevent the use of Medicaid funds despite Biden’s directive.
Clyde commented:
Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars have no place furthering the Left’s unconstitutional gun control agenda. Rather than supporting law enforcement and empowering lawful gun owners, liberal states are determined to divert federal Medicaid dollars to fund false ‘violence prevention’ programs. As responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars and relentless defenders of the Constitution, Congress must step in to stop this flagrant misuse of federal funds aimed at infringing law-abiding Americans’ Second Amendment liberties.
Original co-sponsors of Clyde’s bill include Republican Reps. Jodey Arrington (TX), Andy Biggs (AZ), Josh Brecheen (OK), Eric Burlison (MO), Michael Cloud (TX), Eli Crane (AZ), Dan Crenshaw (TX), Ron Estes (KS), Bob Good (VA), Paul Gosar (AZ), Morgan Griffith (VA), Glenn Grothman (WI), Andy Harris (MD), Diana Harshbarger (TN), Clay Higgins (LA), David Kustoff (TN), Mary Miller (IL), Alex Mooney (WV), Barry Moore (AL), Ralph Norman (SC), Andy Ogles (TN), Burgess Owens (UT), Chip Roy (TX), Adrian Smith (NE), Claudia Tenney (NY), and Randy Weber (TX).
The Medicaid Fund Integrity Act also has the support of Gun Owners of America and the National Association for Gun Rights (NAGR).
NAGR’s political affairs director Hunter King commented on the bill. “Allowing federal funds to support gun violence prevention programs under Medicaid is a gross misuse of taxpayer dollars, aimed at advancing radical gun control agendas,” he said. “Medicaid’s purpose is to provide vital healthcare, not to fund programs that infringe on Second Amendment rights. Federal resources should be focused on their intended mission, not diverted to backdoor attempts at restricting lawful gun ownership.”
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, a member of Gun Owners of America, a Pulsar Night Vision pro-staffer, and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and has a Ph.D. in Military History. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly:
