GOP Budget Proposal Seeks To Reverse Decades Of Anti-Family Policies

The Republican Study Committee (RSC) released a new budget proposal Wednesday for fiscal year 2023 which aims to promote stronger family bonds.

The proposal aims to promote conservative social policies, particularly strong families, and to reverse some of the policies that discourage marriage and promote abortion. It includes numerous pro-life provisions that would restrict funding for abortion providers as well as policies promoting marriage and aiding religious organizations.

“The root of many of our nation’s greatest challenges is the rapid erosion of strong families,” Republican Indiana Rep. Jim Banks, who chairs the RSC, told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “By empowering parents and investing in America’s children, we allow prosperity for future generations. If we want to protect and strengthen our nation, conservatives in Congress must be committed to promoting a pro-family agenda when Republicans win back the House.”

The budget proposes eliminating “marriage penalties,” or policies in the welfare system that many argue discourage marriage by providing better benefits to single people, noting that marriage is one of the leading indicators that a family will not live in poverty.

“These policies encourage broken families, exacerbating the cycle of poverty and rewarding only the bureaucrats who get to manage bigger programs and earn larger paychecks. The RSC Budget supports welfare reforms that would mitigate or remove these penalties,” the budget says.

The proposal also includes provisions blocking government discrimination against faith-based child welfare organizations and religious congregations for their beliefs, such as objection to same-sex marriage. The budget resolution explains that Americans’ donations to religious congregations in 2019 exceeded the amount the federal government spent on the welfare programs SNAP, TANF and SSI combined, noting that these religious groups form their own social safety nets.

“If those vital social bonds break down, that essential and irreplaceable safety net disappears,” the resolution says. “Deepening the ties that hold our families and local communities together is the most effective way to fight poverty, and this cannot be done from Washington.” (RELATED: Pro-Abortion Arsonists Have Firebombed Three Pro-Life Groups In A Month)

“This budget supports 23 life-affirming federal policies that would protect unborn babies with beating hearts, safeguard women’s health from mail-order abortion drugs, and much more,” SBA Pro-Life America said in a statement. “This is a stark contrast to Biden’s budget proposal that pushes abortion on demand until the moment of birth, paid for by the taxpayer. We thank all our pro-life Republican allies standing strong against pro-abortion extremism.”

The RSC proposal features a pledge to vote against any legislation that would weaken or eliminate the Hyde Amendment, which bars federal funding for abortions, along with a provision codifying the policy into law. It also includes numerous provisions advancing the pro-life cause by blocking federal funding for abortion providers and creating legal protections for children who survive abortions.

“The RSC Budget seeks to support marriage and family as well as prevent taxpayers from funding abortion, experimentation on children, woke education, or the denigration of the Constitution and our First Freedom,” said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council.