Immediately after Sunday’s town hall-style debate, Tiffany Smiley was asked by local press what specific funding she would cut. Smiley suggested cutting nonexistent funding for crack pipes, saying:
“It’s not necessarily cuts but it’s also the waste, fraud, and abuse that goes on in our agencies…If you want a specific program that we can cut, we need to cut the clean crack pipe and clean needle program because at this point, I think we can all agree, that that doesn’t work. We’re allowing people to poison themselves to death right in front of us so we need other measures that will work to save their lives. That’s a program I would cut.”
***WATCH SMILEY’S RESPONSE***
Smiley was likely referring to $30 million in funds for community-based harm-reduction programs. Her false claim has been fact-checked thoroughly and debunked — and more to the point, cutting .0019% of annual discretionary spending is absolutely not going to tackle the global inflation crisis being driven by supply-side economic challenges.
“Just days from the election, Tiffany Smiley’s answer to inflation amounts to cutting .0019% of the federal discretionary budget and making the deficit-busting Trump tax cuts for big corporations permanent. That’s wrong for Washington state, but great for Mitch McConnell and his special interest friends,” said Caitlin Harrington, Washington State Democratic Party spokesperson. “With every passing day it becomes clearer that Smiley would be nothing more than a mouthpiece for Mitch McConnell—we deserve a voice in the Senate who knows how to stand up and fight for our families, Smiley will rubber stamp Mitch McConnell’s agenda that is wrong for Washington state.”
Tiffany Smiley: No Plans for Inflation, Just a Rubber Stamp for Mitch McConnell
Despite making inflation a centerpiece of her campaign, Smiley consistently has failed to detail one specific way she would lower costs for Washington state families.
From the Seattle Times: “Smiley has consistently said she will “rein in the out-of-control spending” she says is fueling inflation. But she has consistently declined to say what spending she would cut.”
Tiffany Smiley wants to extend the Trump tax giveaways for corporations and the wealthiest Americans, which ballooned the deficit and did nothing to help the middle class.
Smiley supports Rick Scott’s campaign agenda, which would sunset all federal programs after 5 years, potentially ending them permanently — including Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and the Affordable Care Act.
During the Spokane debate and Seattle Town Hall, and even before, Smiley has very specifically left the door open to slashing Social Security benefits for those who were not already receiving or “near to receiving” their benefits.
Smiley opposed the Inflation Reduction Act, which lowered prescription drug, health care, and energy costs for families – and reduced the deficit by $300 billion.
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