Jeb Bush wants to eliminate what he considers “bloated, destructive welfare programs” and allow states to create tailor-made programs through block grants, according to a preview of a new policy proposal he’s rolling out Friday.
“There are three things that will lift people out of poverty: work, marriage, and a high school education, at least,” Bush said Wednesday at a town hall in New Hampshire when talking about his proposal. “You do those three things and it gives you a giant leap forward in terms of the probabilities of being lifted out of poverty.”
His proposal comes ahead of a major summit on poverty in South Carolina on Saturday, hosted by the Jack Kemp Foundation, House Speaker Paul Ryan and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina. Along with Bush, Sen. Marco Rubio, Ohio Gov. Kasich, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie are set to speak at the event.
Through what he calls “Right to Rise” block grants — taking the same name as his super PAC, Bush’s plan would replace programs like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, and Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance and Public Housing Programs.
His plan is heavily focused on encouraging marriage and preventing out-of-wedlock childbirth, pointing to a number of statistics that show children that grow up in married households fare better in income and education.
“In the same way that leading institutions advise us to abstain from smoking, eat healthy foods, get plenty of exercise, read to our children, volunteer, and finish school, they should advise young people to postpone having a child until they have a stable partner and are ready to be parents,” a preview of his policy says.
According to his campaign, he would also do more to “invest in future fathers” and “invigorate the child support enforcement system,” the latter of which he frequently talks about doing when he was governor of Florida.
On work requirements, it would mandate work for able-bodied welfare recipients and double working tax credits for childless filers.
Cutting back on fraud and waste would also be a top priority. One approach, according to his campaign, would be doing more to verify recipients’ income, including allowing the IRS to access to SNAP records to identify filers who may have improperly claimed dependents.