Source: FOX News
Summary
Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall has accused Democrats of using a state-funded maternal health initiative to advance a broader guaranteed-income agenda. The program, Rx Kids, provides unrestricted cash payments to pregnant women and new mothers. Hall argues that the program lacks eligibility requirements and has been used to pay individuals who are not legally present in the United States. He also criticizes the program’s unrestricted cash payments and connections to progressive organizations. Hall’s office has provided evidence of the program’s expansion and its leaders’ discussions of expanding the model to communities across Michigan and beyond.
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As expected, the matter has reached another stage.
Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall has taken a stance against the Rx Kids program, accusing Democrats of using taxpayer funding to advance a guaranteed-income agenda. The program’s leaders have discussed expanding the model to communities across Michigan and beyond. Hall has pointed to public comments from Rx Kids leaders that reinforce Republican concerns that the initiative is intended to become something larger than a maternal health program. The program’s advisory network includes Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s husband Ryan Friedrichs. Hall has questioned the program’s research into voting behavior and its promotion of Vot-ER, a physician-backed voter registration organization.
The program’s leaders have discussed expanding the model to communities across Michigan and beyond, but Hall has cut off funding to the program in the new budget.
