GOP's "YouCut" Contest: We Have a Winner
The votes are in and there's a winner in the GOP's new effort to show Americans that Republicans are serious about cutting wasteful spending and want to get people involved in that process.
House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (pictured) launched YouCut one week ago and invited viewers to vote on one of five spending cuts that Republicans would bring to the House Floor for an up or down vote each week.
Cantor's office said that there were over 280,000 votes cast. Which program did voters put on the chopping block (drum roll please)?
Republicans call it a "New Non-Reformed Welfare Program."
The program is described on the YouCut website as a $2.5 billion program "recently created to incentivize states to increase their welfare caseloads without requiring able-bodied adults to work, get job training, or otherwise prepare to move off of taxpayer assistance."
YouCut's release says that over 81,000 people voted to cut the program.
Of course, 81,000 people's wasteful spending is other people's emergency spending.
Rep. Jim McDermott is the proponent of the program that is actually called the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Emergency Contingency Fund. He responded to the news in a statement saying that Republicans had "deceived people about a program that Republicans outside the beltway think is a good thing" and linked to this letter showing support for the program from the National Governor's Association and state legislators.
An aide to Rep. McDermott explained that the program is used to give poor families some cash assistance, but it is also used to subsidize employers to help defray the cost of hiring new workers.
Health and Human Services disburses over $16 billion to states for this program every year, but the $2.5 billion emergency contingency fund was added to the stimulus package to encourage that hiring during a recession and help needy families, according to the aide.
Democrats argue it's a job creator.
Cantor spokesman Brad Dayspring said that there is "no guarantee that these 'subsidized jobs' will continue after the Federal funds end, leaving everyone to wonder what will happen when the federal money runs out? Who pays then?"
Dayspring also said it's important to remember that Republicans did not choose this cut. 81,000 voters did.
Republicans plan to bring the proposed cut up for a vote on the House Floor Thursday.
Watch Cantor talk about the "YouCut" program on CBSNews.com's "Washington Unplugged" below:
