Debbie Dingell Slams Elon Musk’s DOGE Practices: It’s ‘Hurting Innocent People Every Single Day’

15 hours ago

During Wednesday's House Democratic Leadership press conference, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) answered questions about DOGE's funding cut practices.

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Transcript

00:00Last question, what do you guys pick?

00:08Your hand stayed up.

00:09So I know that some of the issues that DOJ has made hate with, they won't predate DOJ.

00:10The Government Accountability Office identified 2.7 trillion in improper payments from, I

00:11believe, 2003 until 2023.

00:12And there have been some hearings and oversight where there's been bipartisan concern about

00:13improper payments.

00:14All that is to say, is there any way, given DOJ and given the prominence of Elon Musk,

00:35for Democrats to own on messaging aspects of some of those, you know, reform elements?

00:42Or is this an issue that it's just going to be difficult to bring to the forefront?

00:49Look, I'll sit down and talk to anybody about waste and fraud.

00:52And I'd start with the Pentagon, to be perfectly frank.

00:54But this meat-axe approach that we are watching is hurting innocent people every single day.

01:00I was at the VA the night, the day after they announced VA cuts.

01:05I had veterans, and in the staff, while they're worried about what's going to happen, are

01:10more worried about veterans' care.

01:12The Detroit Dingell Hospital, I don't care whose Veterans Secretary, had issues.

01:18I went to the Secretary of Veteran Affairs, who got an Inspector General report that a

01:23director was fired in a Democratic administration of the hospital.

01:27That's hard.

01:28And it's understaffed.

01:29And now you're going to cut them more?

01:31And you know, by the way, when you talk about critical jobs, keeping the building heated,

01:35keeping the inventory there matters, too.

01:38And when you're cutting things like research for burn pits, we've had 30 years.

01:43I have had Vietnam vets that have died of Agent Orange.

01:46For 30 years, we have been making a promise and have a moral responsibility to take care

01:51of those veterans.

01:52We finally do it, and now we're not going to meet our obligation under the PACT Act?

01:57And I could go on.

01:58Last Friday, when I was at the, two Fridays ago, or ten days ago, at the Veterans Hospital

02:04in downtown Detroit, they had just fired people at the Great Lakes Lab, and this woman

02:08just collapsed in my arms.

02:10Do you know the kind of work that's not going to get done?

02:12It's algae bloom and keeping the water safe.

02:15It's NOAA and weather and predicting floods.

02:20It's safety.

02:21We're cutting air traffic controllers.

02:23How many air traffic events have we had?

02:27Firefighters that are fighting fires.

02:30We could, I could go through the list, so you don't take a meat ax.

02:34We'll have a conversation, but you don't cut programs that are hurting people every

02:38single day.

02:39You may say whatever you want.

02:47So I do think Democrats are committed to modernizing our systems, rooting out fraud, waste, and

02:56abuse.

02:57I think there's a way to do that that is respectful of the programs that people rely on, respectful

03:03of the federal employees who could actually help us identify where some of those buckets

03:08of cost are that can be trimmed.

03:10That should be done in full view of the American people.

03:13It should be debated.

03:14It should be the role of Congress.

03:16It should not be left to a billionaire who has not been elected, who has not been vetted

03:23by the Senate or the administration, who has multiple billion-dollar contracts with the

03:29DOD, with the FAA, with the FDA, to go through and start wiping out personnel and programs

03:36that people rely on.

03:38That is just not the way to do it.

03:40It is Congress's role to do that, and that is something where we're fully committed to

03:46doing those audits and rooting out fraud, abuse, and waste, but I think that we want

03:50to do that in full view of the American people.

03:52Absolutely.

03:53Absolutely.

03:54The Pentagon hasn't passed an audit since I've been in Congress.

Debbie Dingell Slams Elon Musk’s DOGE Practices: It’s ‘Hurting Innocent People Every Single Day’

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