Washington, May 18 - Republican Study Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-GA) issued the following statement after an initiative he and the RSC Sunset Caucus have championed for over a year received the most votes in the first ever round of YouCut.
Following 280,000 votes cast since Wednesday, participants have chosen to have the House of Representatives vote on repealing a $2.5 billion per year program that gutted the bipartisan welfare reforms of the mid 1990s.
Created by the Democrats' failed stimulus package, this new program incentivizes states to increase their welfare caseloads without requiring able-bodied individuals to work, get job training, or make other efforts to move off of taxpayer assistance.
"It is inspiring to see so many Americans engaged in an effort to bring fiscal sanity and responsibility back to Washington," said Chairman Price. "Welfare reform was one of the most important bipartisan achievements of the last two decades, but it has been woefully undermined by a little noticed provision in the so-called stimulus package. Fortunately, that could soon change thanks to the hundreds of thousands of Americans who participated in the first week of YouCut.
Congress will now have the opportunity to vote this week to restore welfare reform by refocusing temporary assistance on helping people get back on their feet as quickly as possible rather than simply expanding dependence on government. I hope Democrats will listen to this incredible outpouring of support and join with Republicans and the American people to restore welfare reform."
Note: The winning YouCut initiative is based on H.R. 1277, the Welfare Reform Restoration Act, introduced by Chairman Price and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) on March 3, 2009.
Congressman Tom Price is Chairman of the Republican Study Committee (RSC).
