This week, House Republicans unveiled their bill for debt ceiling negotiations, the Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023. No one enjoys a debt ceiling fight, but this time around, there’s much to be excited about in this bold document, including a defunding of President Biden’s IRS army, a stop to the student loan giveaway for the wealthy, and a reclaiming of unspent COVID-19 funding.
But there are two components of this bill that have people who love work and responsible government cheering:
#1: Expanded Work Requirements for Food Stamps and Medicaid
There are nearly 10 million open jobs across the country with not enough workers to fill them. Where are these workers? They’re sitting on the sidelines trapped in dependency by an administration doing everything it can to promote welfare over work. It’s gotten so bad that there are now more than 100 million Americans on Medicaid—that’s nearly one-third of the entire country.
President Biden bypassed Congress to unilaterally enact a massive expansion of the food stamp program that has been helping to fuel our nation’s workforce crisis, with a near-record-high 41.6 million Americans on food stamps, more than doubling from two decades ago.
The Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023 expands these programs’ general work requirements to childless adults ages 18-55 for food stamps and ages 19-55 for Medicaid. This requires individuals to work, train, or volunteer at least part time to remain eligible for these programs. We know that work requirements work, and are a proven way to help protect program integrity, increase incomes, and reduce government dependence.
#2: The REINS Act
No debt ceiling negotiation would be complete without an honest discussion about D.C.’s out-of-control spending habit. The Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act is one of the best options available to help rein in the bureaucrats who spend hundreds of billions of dollars and pile on red tape without oversight.
The REINS Act requires that any rule or regulation with an economic impact of $100 million or more must come before Congress for a vote. Including the REINS Act in the negotiations is a serious solution to one of the nation’s most serious problems. Taming regulations will help save money, boost the economy, and give Americans a reprieve from sky-high inflation.
