Republican Study Committee Recommends Cutting Welfare Program That Already Expired

The Republican Study Committee on Monday recommended reducing the deficit by cutting a welfare program that lards the federal budget with $2.5 billion in wasteful spending every year.

The Committee, led by Rep. Tom Price (Ga.), called for cutting the $2.5 billion Emergency Fund created by the stimulus bill to help states subsidize jobs via the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, formerly known as welfare. Price has targeted the program as part of House Republicans' "YouCut" initiative to reduce federal spending.

"The goal of welfare programs should be to help people get back on their feet as quickly as possible rather than simply expanding dependence on government," Price said in a statement. "In addition to saving taxpayers $25 billion over the next 10 years, cutting the emergency fund from the President's failed stimulus package will refocus temporary assistance on its rightful role."

Problem is, the TANF Emergency Fund has already expired, along with the 240,000 jobs progressive economists say it created.

"Republicans claim to be serious about reducing the deficit but yet they roll out a proposal to eliminate a program that no longer exists," said Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) in a statement. "What's next -- claiming savings for cutting New Deal work programs that were terminated over 70 years ago?

"The real question is when are Republicans going to abandon this sort of hollow rhetoric and get serious about the problems facing this country?"

A spokesman for the committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment from HuffPost.

In August, Senate Democrats, apparently by coincidence, embraced a YouCut proposal to eliminate the Advance Earned Income Tax Credit, offsetting $1 billion of a $26 billion state aid bill.

"While we welcome the Democrats' embrace of the YouCut initiative, the purpose of the program is to start cutting spending, not to use the cuts that Americans want as an opportunity to increase government spending somewhere else," said a spokesman for Republican honcho Rep. Eric Cantor (Va.) at the time.

Comments

[Lahonda]

05:57 AM on 11/11/2010

Wow! Are they smoke people? It's like they land and speak.

[JRambo]

02:47 AM on 11/11/2010

These cuts are nothing. The media needs to point out the percentage of every cut proposed by the GOP. The GOP will give numbers like x million of dollars saved. It is the media's responsibility to point out that this cuts are basically 0% of our debt if you round. I'm so sick of the media giving equal time to both sides when they are not equal. Lets get the facts out there, do the math, and let the people decide. If the media isn't going to scrutinize what is being said, why even have them? Lets just let the Dems put our talking points and the GOP put out talking points and call it a day...

[ibsteve2u]

12:01 AM on 11/11/2010

I have doubts as to whether fact-checking is even applicable in the context of Republican politics anymore.

I think when Republicans talk they're mostly talking for the benefit of their base, secure in the knowledge that their base will love anything that they say and - as long as the thrust of their words is inflicting greater hardship (perhaps even death!) upon somebody, their base won't fact-check.

On the other hand if you're not one of their base, you've likely already concluded that a good rule of thumb is that when the right speaks, the right lies...obviating a need for fact-checking by regular folks, if for a different reason.

It is getting really hard to distinguish between Fox and the Republicans, anymore.

[mdbeard41]

01:35 PM on 11/10/2010

wake me when they get to military budget cuts, then we know they are serious about reducing the deficit and balancing the budget.

[bluepond]

01:03 PM on 11/10/2010

Have we finally gotten the government we deserve?

[bluepond]

12:56 PM on 11/10/2010

Are you serious? They want to cut the earned income while keeping the tax cuts for the super wealthy? This is a moral outrage.

[BalsoSnell]

12:47 PM on 11/10/2010

I hear they're also planning to take snipes off the endangered species list.

[kdallas999]

12:36 PM on 11/10/2010

Maybe this isn't as sinister as it looks. "Cutting" a welfare program that's already expired gives the Republicans the ability to tell their masses that they reduced welfare without harming the program.

[amwa]

11:53 AM on 11/10/2010

Only Republicans can come up with cutting something that has expired, Just proof they have no idea what is going on. They are not interested in helping get this country back on its feet, Tom Price a disgrace.

[nonibright]

10:53 AM on 11/10/2010

I have another budget cutting proposal, how about doing away with the high salaries and benefits all the elected officials get from the taxpayers! I'm glad they don't have an input into my $$ making decisions and anywhere near my checkbook.

[PCPrincess]

10:46 AM on 11/10/2010

I'm sick and tired of the righties going after programs that effect people based solely on the expectation that those affected will not vote. I will personally go and register 25 million welfare recipients as democrats just to piss these immoral excuses for human beings off.

[osage]

10:35 AM on 11/10/2010

TODAY’S REPUBLICANS ARE AMERICA'S ENEMY WITHIN

Republicans ARE practicing seditious DEMAGOGUERY and anti-democracy OBSTRUCTIONISM intended to destabilize our economy for purposes of political exploitation.

Republicans AREN'T making a sincere effort to STOP the bleeding THEIR incompetent leadership and failed policies created. Instead, they're using inflammatory lies and accusations as a smokescreen to conceal their subversive agenda, which is to cause President Obama and America to fail so they can blame Democrats for the consequences of THEIR calamitous mismanagement.

Republicans ARE preposterously professing that THEIR disgraceful political WHORING had nothing to do with the banking, real estate, stock market and employment catastrophes that resulted.

Republicans ARE trying to hamstring Democrats to prevent them from repairing the damage caused during a Republican presidency that was irresponsibly enabled by Republican Senators and Representatives.

Republicans ARE offering ridiculous arguments meant solely to disrupt and prevent progressive change. They'd rather divide America and create political gridlock than endure the political consequences of effective Democratic governance.

Republicans AREN'T the LOYAL OPPOSITION; they ARE the ENEMY WITHIN whose mercenary priorities have eroded their moral and ethical standards to the point that duplicity and betrayal have become their preferred modus operandi.

It's one thing to advocate their conservative beliefs; it's another thing entirely to willfully sabotage America's government because a successful Democratic presidency would not be vulnerable to the greed, fears and hatreds that have produced and sustained the despicable Republican anti-government corporatism and anti-Christian faux theocracies that are poisoning and crippling American society.

[jafsie]

10:35 AM on 11/10/2010

What hath idiocy wrought.

[cedy195]

10:27 AM on 11/10/2010

That's why poor people don't vote for Rethugs,because we know they only help the rich that bought those seat's for them this election cycle.

[timm553]

10:23 AM on 11/10/2010

Being against something that doesn't exist is taking "NO" to a whole new level. I knew that they could, and would, do it.