Issue Position: Welfare

Issue Position

The issue of Welfare affects all of us and dealing with it is an important part of my work in Congress.

Before new reforms enacted by the Democrat-led government, indications were that the Republican-led welfare reform of the last decade had been extremely successful. Welfare rolls had been reduced dramatically, and recent research shows that the poverty rates had also fallen significantly. However, there remains much work to be done -- especially in recovering from the country falling into the Democrats' hands the past few years.

Our Founding Fathers warned us of the danger of allowing government to waste the substance of its citizens under the pretense of taking care of them. It is time for government to join with the private business sector in requiring--and providing opportunity to--work. I have personally worked toward that goal each term I have been elected to in the House of Representatives. A job still represents the greatest social program in America, and helping the disadvantaged find independence from government is the truly compassionate thing to do.

Instead of furthering our nation's welfare system, I believe that Congress should do more to empower families, churches, and faith-based organizations to come alongside those who are struggling to put food on the table, trying to find shelter for themselves and their families, and scrapping for other needs. We will never reach the full potential of the private sector's generosity if the government is increasing its handout programs. No matter what the government does for its welfare programs, we will always have the impoverished amongst us; and the more government attempts to give the "poor," the more "poor" this country seems to have. The kindest act government can bestow upon the needy is to back away from promising more to them, encouraging these people to work even harder for a better life. Our country simply cannot financially sustain the load of people already on its welfare rolls.

Social Security and Medicare are entitlements that have been promised to our seniors. These entitlements must not be manipulated to renege on the promises we currently owe to our seniors. However, we must come up with a new plan to ensure that Social Security remains solvent for future generations. We cannot assume that our country will be able to sustain its current pace when it comes to Social Security and Medicare programs.

To this end, I have been the sponsor (on more than one occasion) of the "Seniors Financial Security Act of 2009." This act strives to end the double taxation of seniors' Social Security income by repealing the inclusion of individuals'' Social Security funds on the gross income section of income tax returns. In this way, seniors do not have to worry about the taxes they will incur while receiving Social Security after their working days are over.

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