Steve Moore Explains Why Problems With GOP Spending Bill ‘Not A Hard Fix’

Economist Steve Moore defended “budget hawks” holding up the GOP’s spending bill on Fox Business Monday, saying concerns raised by Republican Texas Rep. Chip Roy are valid.

House Republicans advanced President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” Sunday night after four conservative holdouts voted “present,” allowing the tax and spending package to clear committee as GOP leaders push to send it to the Senate this week. During an appearance on “Kudlow,” Moore weighed in on a few House Freedom Caucus Republicans who joined Democrats to block Trump’s tax and spending bill, saying the legislation contains clear flaws that demand immediate attention.

“I was kind of angry Friday when I heard that Chip Roy was a bunch of the budget hawks, and I’m a budget hawk myself, as you are. We’re holding this bill up. And then I looked at the details of what Chip Roy and these others were talking about. And I said ‘These guys are dead right. There’s problems with this bill. They have to be fixed. And it’s not a hard fix,’” Moore told host Larry Kudlow.

One of the key sticking points, Moore said, involves the delayed rollout of work requirements for welfare recipients. He reminded viewers that work requirements proved successful in the 1990s.

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“Why are we waiting, what is it, four, five, six years before the work requirements come in? But, incidentally, we did work requirements in the 90s. Remember, when Newt Gingrich was speaker and Bill Clinton was president, and we reduced welfare case levels by 60%,?” Moore asked. “Those people went into the workforce. There are jobs out there for people to fill.”