Jeb Hensarling: “Madam Chairman, President Reagan once said that the nearest thing to eternal life on Earth is a Federal program, and I…”

“Madam Chairman, President Reagan once said that the nearest thing to eternal life on Earth is a Federal program, and I don't think there is any better case study than perhaps the HOPE VI program. If there was ever a program that cried out for termination, it's this one; termination so that the money used for this program can be returned to hardworking American families. Many of us are acquainted with the history of the program, begun in 1992 with a very noble purpose of taking 86,000 units of severely distressed public housing and replacing them, demolishing them. Well, guess what, Madam Chairman; it achieved its mission. But somewhere along the line we had this thing in Washington known as mission creep. What we should have done is probably given all the employees of the program a bonus, throw them a big party and say thank you for doing something good and achieving the mission of your particular program. But instead, somehow the program goes on and on and on. Now, the Office of Management and Budget has said that this program is ineffective.”