As legislative Republicans continue to work to implement an agenda that would help the private sector create family sustaining jobs; partner education institutions with businesses to generate career-ready skills; and prioritize things like career and technical education, Democrats this week fought tooth-and-nail to continue the cycle of government dependency by working to sustain the long-broken General Assistance Program.
The pitfalls of the program go back nearly seven years when then-Auditor General Jack Wagner cited the General Assistance program as being ripe for abuse due to lax oversight by Democrat officials overseeing the program.
According to a 2012 report by the Office of Auditor General, in May 2010 alone Electronic Benefit Transfer cards were used to make $5.7 million in out-of-state purchases. General Assistance benefits were part of the funds distributed on EBT cards. Due to insufficient oversight of the program, it was impossible for the Auditor General to determine whether or not these purchases were invalid or illegal.
In response, Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Val DiGiorgio, made the following statement:
“Republicans are working to improve the lives of Pennsylvanians every day by creating policies that would spur private sector job creation and provide those seeking family-sustaining jobs the skills they need to flourish in the economy.
“If Democrats were also interested in helping Pennsylvanians, they are better off working with Republicans to end the cycle of government dependence and find a way to prosperity and sustainability for all those seeking a job.
“Democrats working to maintain a long-broken government program are doing a disservice to taxpayers and failing the most vulnerable.”
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