Republican congressman Paul Ryan will most likely restart the U.S. poverty debate on Thursday as he unveils a new plan to replace the existing social safety net programs with new grants that will encourage employment.

Ryan is well known for promoting deep budget cuts in his proposals. However, the House Budget Committee chairman is changing his tactics by maintaining the level of the social safety net funding but changing the way it is spent, Reuters explained.

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The Republican representative will deliver a speech to Washington-based conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute on Thursday regarding the new anti-poverty plan. Ryan will talk about replacing food stamps, housing subsidies and welfare checks with new block grants that will encourage people to work at entry-level positions instead of just waiting for welfare benefits.

The new grant program would be a better fit for the needs of the underprivileged communities, according to Bob Woodson, who helped Ryan organize the proposal. He said it is aimed to "reward work" and encourage independence from the safety net.

Ryan is considered as one of the potential Republican candidates for the 2016 presidential bid. Should he decide to run, many of the points he will deliver on his Thursday speech will most likely become part of his election platform.

In March, Ryan remarked that the present safety net programs were not well constructed and were not very effective in reducing poverty in the last five decades. In addition, they took up $799 billion of the total fiscal budget in 2012.

The new proposal is already garnering criticisms from pro-poor organizations. The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities said food stamps and income tax credits significantly reduced poverty since 1967, based on a research by Columbia University.

The budget chairman's plan also aims to present wider options in public education and implement lighter regulations for licensing processes for taxi drivers and other jobs. Other states reportedly prohibit applicants with criminal records from obtaining licenses.

Meanwhile, Democrats are planning to use Ryan's speech for their advantage by turning the spotlight on their own alternatives. These include President Barack Obama's proposal to up the federal hourly minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10.