Vox Pop - Rep. Van Orden’s hand in the cookie jar

And like a kid caught red-handed, he says, “I wasn’t taking cookies—I was putting them in!” In a newsletter sent July 9 to his constituents, Van Orden claimed the “One Big Beautiful Budget Bill” (OBBBB) would reduce the deficit by $184 billion over 10 years.

But here’s the truth: nonpartisan experts say the bill will actually add to the deficit, not shrink it. The Congressional Budget Office predicts it will add $3 trillion to the federal deficit from 2025 to 2034. Some of the supposed “savings” to fund the bill come from cutting Medicaid, Medicare, and SNAP—programs that help millions of low-income Americans, including kids and seniors.

Van Orden tried to dismiss the Congressional Budget Office’s projections, blaming “Biden-era stagnation.” But actual data tells a different story: Real GDP growth averaged 3.4% in Biden’s first three years.

Unemployment stayed near historic lows, averaging 3.6% in 2023—the lowest since 1969.

In short: Van Orden is lying to defend a vote that hurts working families while helping the wealthy.

His strategy? Repeat the lie loud enough and long enough that people start to believe it. But as P.T. Barnum said: “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time— but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”

Don’t be fooled. Speak up. Call him out. — Candace Hennekens, Eau Claire