Zinke says GOP budget won’t harm the needy: 'People who deserve benefits are going to get the benefits'

Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) said Sunday that he's not worried about threats to social programs under the spending plan Republicans are trying to craft while advancing President Trump's agenda.

"People who deserve benefits are going to get the benefits," Zinke said in an interview on NewsNation's "The Hill Sunday." "For people that are riding the system, we gotta clamp in."

Zinke defended proposed Medicaid work requirements some Republicans are pushing in order to save money in the health care program that covers nearly 80 million people across the country. He argued that states should shoulder the burden of federal programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to help rein in waste.

"You can't have free money because there's no incentive to save, you know?" Zinke said. "Hey, as long as the music plays, don't worry about it. But you know what? You should worry about it, because it's our children's future."

Zinke, who served as Interior Secretary in Trump's first term, said that Congressional leaders have to "be courageous and find the savings" to rein in the country's debt and also allow lawmakers to cement 2017 tax cuts that cost the country trillions.

"Whatever we have in savings — that will roll over, and most of us believe to the tax provision so that Americans don't get caught with the biggest tax increase in the history of this country," he said. "But it is a balance sheet, and you got to be very, very careful about digging more in debt."

He noted that Moody's recently downgraded the U.S.'s credit rating, in part, because of debt management.

"The bond market doesn't lie," he said.