Austin News

On April 7, 2025, U.S. Senator John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, expressed his support for implementing work requirements for able-bodied Americans within means-tested programs. These requirements are proposed as part of the Senate's reconciliation legislation, which aims to control government spending.

In his remarks, Senator Cornyn emphasized the importance of addressing the federal budget without imposing a substantial tax increase. "We are on our way to what President Trump likes to call ‘One big beautiful bill.’" Cornyn stated, "The critical matter at hand in this budget resolution is to make sure that we don’t impose a multi-trillion dollar tax increase on the American people."

He highlighted the local impact, saying, "Back home in Texas, my constituents would see their taxes increase by $3,000 on average next year." Cornyn further stated, "In addition to preventing the biggest tax increase in history, this bill will provide an opportunity for us to take important steps in controlling spending and addressing our national debt."

Cornyn advocated for assessing means-tested federal programs, suggesting that work requirements for able-bodied adults could save billions of taxpayer dollars. He explained, "They need to have work requirements for able-bodied adults because there are a lot of able-bodied adults that are simply living off of the American taxpayer… when they should be contributing to our economy and contributing to their families and their communities by doing meaningful work."

He concluded by encouraging his colleagues to support these measures, saying, "Gainful employment has dignity... So I would encourage my Republican colleagues to join me in strengthening work requirements across means-tested programs when the time comes to identify these savings within our committees."