Virginia Foxx: “Today I stand in opposition to H.R. 5129, the Community Services Block Grant Modernization Act of 2022, CSBG. While I…”

“Today I stand in opposition to H.R. 5129, the Community Services Block Grant Modernization Act of 2022, CSBG. While I recognize that the CSBG program has been serving those in need for decades, I do not believe that this reauthorization bill improves CSBG services or fixes the program's flaws. As Members of Congress, we have an obligation to ensure that taxpayer dollars are being spent as efficiently and effectively as possible. In that regard, the CSBG program is missing the mark. Spending $1 billion on a program that has limited accountability is yet another reason why our country is experiencing the biggest inflation crisis we have seen in 41 years. With our national debt exceeding $30 trillion, it is time to stop mortgaging the future of the next generation with spending on programs that may not even work. There is little proof that CSBG programs are accomplishing the one goal they were created for: moving Americans out of poverty. In fact, there is more proof that CSBG has become nothing but another welfare program, which keeps Americans in poverty instead of lifting them into self-sufficiency. Under current law, CSBG lets States set their own benchmarks for progress, allowing ineffective programs to continue receiving taxpayer dollars despite poor performance. This bill continues that ineffective policy rather than creating commonsense measures to judge the programs' outcomes.…”