"I don't think Paul Ryan intended to write a budget that concentrated its cuts on the poorest Americans. Similarly, I don't think Mitt Romney intended to write a budget that concentrated its cuts on the poorest Americans. But there's a reason their budgets turned out so similar: The Republican Party has settled on four overlapping fiscal commitments that leave them with few other choices."
"The major Republican contenders in the Mississippi primary -- Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich -- want to turn over to the states federal programs such as food stamps, housing vouchers and Medicaid. That would transform the aid from open- ended entitlements into fixed annual grants while allowing states to impose new conditions upon recipients, ultimately reducing the number helped."
"With campaign chatter now focused on issues like separation of church and state and the proper place for contraception, the realities of life for the poorest Americans, and the cost to them and society as they continue to founder, hasn't yet been a significant part of the presidential candidates' — or the White House's — stump speeches."
"In his speech from the rostrum in the legislative chamber, Gingrich gave one example of why the U.S. government needed to shift power to the states: a bureaucratic tangle of 185 offices dealing with federal assistance to low-income Americans. 'I'd like to block-grant that into one office and send you the money and say you need to figure out how you're going to cope with helping people in Georgia who need help,' Gingrich told the lawmakers, who responded with a round of applause."
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Below are a list of policies from the candidate for issues related to reducing poverty and promoting opportunity with links to more information on the candidate’s website and, where applicable, their official government website. Jobs and the EconomyNewt Gingrich proposes to nine-point “Jobs and Prosperity Plan” that includes eliminating the capital gains tax; reducing the corporate income tax; repealing the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Law and the Community Reinvestment Act; balancing the budget; reforming entitlement programs; and moving toward an optional flat tax of 15 percent, which would create a new personal deduction above the current poverty level.
>>Read more about Newt Gingrich’s jobs and prosperity plan.Health CareNewt Gingrich proposes a 12-point “Patient Power Plan” that includes providing a tax credit or the ability to deduct the value of health insurance; reforming Medicaid by implementing a block-grant program to the states; extending Health Savings Accounts (HSAs); setting up a High Risk Pool to provide insurance for the uninsured and sick; and repealing the Affordable Care Act.
>>Read more about Newt Gingrich’s healthcare plan.EducationNewt Gingrich proposes an education plan that includes allowing parents to change their child’s school according to preference; instituting a Pell Grant-style system for Kindergarten through 12th grade that will follow students to any school they attend; establishing a ‘no limits’ charter system; and encouraging every state to have a work-study college that allows students to graduate without debt.
>>Read more about Newt Gingrich’s education plan.
ImmigrationNewt Gingrich proposes a 10-step plan to ensure that all immigrants to the U.S. are here legally. The plan includes the creation of a path to earned legality. To receive that status, immigrants would need to regularly prove that they are capable of supporting themselves without entitlement programs.
>>Read more about Newt Gingrich's immigration plan. Spotlight has tracked what the Republican presidential candidates have been saying about poverty and opportunity during the GOP primary debates. We’ve posted quotes from the candidates in a series of Out of the Spotlight (OOTS) blog postings. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is quoted in the following OOTS:
NBC, National Journal and Tampa Bay Times GOP Debate, January 23, 2012
Fox News Channel and Wall Street Journal GOP Debate, January 13, 2012
Fox News Republican Debate, December 15, 2011
ABC News Iowa Republican Debate, December 10, 2011
CNN GOP Presidential Debate on National Security, sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and the Heritage Foundation, November 22, 2011
Your Money, Your Vote: The Republican Presidential Debate, sponsored by CNBC, November 9, 2011
The Western Republican Leadership Conference/CNN Presidential Debate, October 18, 2011
Washington Post-Bloomberg Economic Debate, October 11, 2011
Fox News-Google GOP Presidential Debate, September 22, 2011
Tea Party/GOP Debate, hosted by CNN, September 12, 2011
Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation Debate, presented by NBC News/Politico, September 7, 2011
CNN Republican Presidential Arizona Debate, February 22, 2012
If you read an article, saw a video, or found a policy statement from a candidate that you think should be included,
please email info@spotlightonpoverty.org to submit your request.