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Michigan Republican state Rep. Jay DeBoyer is challenging guaranteed income programs as ineffective wealth redistribution, joining other Republican lawmakers scrutinizing the use of public money for direct cash payments.

“Absolutely not. When does that stop?” DeBoyer, R Clay Township, told Fox News Digital. “When you think about the role of government, the role of government is not to fund people's lives. The role of the government is to provide a conducive environment where you have opportunities for success.”

DeBoyer, who chairs the state House Oversight Committee, is leading Michigan House Republicans seeking rigorous examination of Rx Kids. The taxpayer funded initiative is billed as the nation’s largest prenatal and infant cash assistance program.

Republican lawmakers are raising concerns about the hundreds of millions of public dollars being spent through the initiative. Their scrutiny intensified during a June 2 House Oversight Committee hearing focused on the program’s lack of spending restrictions and income limits.

Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall told Fox News Digital that legislators believed they were financing a targeted maternal and prenatal health initiative. He said the program instead became what he characterized as an open ended social experiment.

Under its current structure, Rx Kids gives expectant mothers a lump sum payment of $1,500 during pregnancy. It then provides $500 each month for six or 12 months after birth, depending on the participating community, without regard to household income.

Republicans contend that the initiative has developed into something different from what lawmakers were originally presented. They accuse Democrats of using hundreds of millions of dollars in public funding to pursue a wider guaranteed income agenda.

Rx Kids Director Dr. Mona Hanna rejects the characterization of the initiative as either a traditional guaranteed income program or a universal basic income model. She points to its concentration on the first year of a child’s life and told Fox News Digital that the program is seeking nationwide expansion.

DeBoyer disputes Hanna’s distinction by citing the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Temporary Assistance for Needy Families plan. That state document defines a guaranteed income program as a regular cash payment to community members without conditions or a work requirement, and it cites Rx Kids as an example.

“The truth is this is just about redistribution of wealth,” DeBoyer said. “It's a distribution tactic that I would argue is not going to help moms and babies, when that's actually what we should be trying to do.”

The dispute in Michigan follows objections to similar programs elsewhere. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Harris County over its Uplift Harris direct cash pilot, and the Texas Supreme Court blocked payments in 2024.

Harris County ended Uplift Harris and a successor program in June 2025 before moving to reallocate the money. Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed House File 2319 on May 1, 2024, banning local guaranteed income programs statewide.

In Arizona, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed legislation backed by Republicans that would have barred municipalities and counties from establishing guaranteed income initiatives. Among advocates seeking permanent guaranteed income policies, only Cook County, Illinois, has approved such a measure so far.

Adriane Brown, senior communications director for the Economic Security Project, said cash assistance has backing across ideological lines. The advocacy organization, founded in 2016 to promote direct cash transfers, has helped create more than 100 guaranteed income pilot programs across the United States.

“The majority of the Michigan Legislature supports this pilot,” Brown told Fox News Digital. She said Rx Kids has expanded in urban and rural Michigan communities under both Democratic and Republican leaders.

Brown argued that young families face economic pressure and need flexible assistance during vulnerable periods. She also said it makes little sense to treat cash assistance as a partisan proposal when communities could benefit from the stability it offers.

Detroit officials have enrolled more than 1,000 mothers in the city’s Rx Kids program since applications opened Feb. 9. The program’s lack of limits, however, remains central to DeBoyer’s criticism.

“We have a safety net. We spend literally billions of dollars on social welfare,” DeBoyer said. “The difference is, in this particular spending, there are no parameters. There is no means test. Literally a millionaire qualifies for this program. An individual who's not an American citizen qualifies for this program.”

DeBoyer said recipients may spend the money on anything, including alcohol, cigarettes, fast-food or vacations. He argued that although supporters describe Rx Kids as assistance for mothers and babies, unrestricted payments create the potential for substantial abuse.

DISCLAIMER: GoldInvestors.news is not a registered investment, legal or tax advisor or broker/dealer. All investment/financial opinions expressed by GoldInvestors.news are from the personal research and experience of the owner of the site and are intended as educational material. Although best efforts are made to ensure that all information is accurate and up to date, occasionally unintended errors and misprints may occur.