Rep. Young, House Budget Committee, Unveil $6.2 trillion Cuts in 2012 Budget

Press Release

Rep. Todd Young (R-IN) joined House Budget Committee Chair Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Republican members of the Budget Committee at a press conference Tuesday to unveil their FY2012 federal budget, which cuts $6.2 trillion from President Obama's budget request over the decade. Young introduced the Committee's plan for reforming programs like Medicaid, food stamps, housing assistance and job training.

"We've put forth a budget that not only gets our federal spending under control, it gets our national debt under control," said Young. "The most pressing issue our country faces is this crushing burden of debt, and we proposed a way to responsibly pay it off completely. It took a long time to build this debt up, and it will take a long time to pay it off, but we showed that it's possible to do it in our lifetime. We must act so that we leave a better America for the next generation."

At the press conference, Young focused on the budget proposals to fix unsustainable welfare programs while saving over $771 billion on Medicaid alone.

"We musn't just focus on getting government smaller and more efficient, it has to be more effective," said Young. "Nowhere is that more important than with respect to our nation's social safety net."

Young outlined the Committee's proposals to deliver more effective assistance to the neediest Americans by building on the historic, bipartisan welfare reform of the 1990's. The plan would give state governors and legislatures more flexibility in that ensuring the needs of their citizens are met by converting federal spending for Medicaid, food stamps and housing assistance into block grant programs.

Young also noted that the House budget would consolidate several federal job training programs into a single career scholarship program for unemployed adults.

"The best welfare program ultimately results in a job," said Young.

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