Building on Welfare Reform’s Historic Success

 

June 2006

  • The effects of the historic welfare reform law passed in 1996 by the new Republican majority in Congress have been nothing short of dramatic: millions of Americans have moved from welfare to work; caseloads are down more than 50 percent; incomes are up; and child poverty has fallen.

  • One of the most successful social policies ever enacted, the 1996 welfare reforms have transformed the lives of millions of families and helped them achieve self-sufficiency.  House Republicans are committed to building on these successes and helping even more Americans break the cycle of dependency and find a good-paying job.

1996 Welfare Reforms Deliver Unprecedented Results  

 

  • When the GOP gained control of Congress in 1994, overhauling the nation’s welfare system was at the heart of its reform agenda.  President Clinton finally signed the welfare reform bill into law in 1996 after vetoing similar legislation twice.  The key reason why many former welfare recipients are leading independent lives today is clear: individuals are required to work for their benefits.  Under the old system, welfare families could expect a lifetime of cash assistance without engaging in constructive activities of any kind.

 

  • Skeptics’ Opinions Have Changed.  Welfare reform’s unprecedented success has convinced skeptics who initially opposed the legislation.  For example, Wendell Primus, a deputy assistant secretary in the Clinton-era Heath & Human Services Department, resigned in opposition when the welfare reform bill was signed into law.  Today, Primus says: “In many ways, welfare reform is working better than I thought it would. . . Whatever we have been doing over the last five years, we ought to keep going (Harden, “Two Parent Families Rise after Change in Welfare Laws, New York Times, August 12, 2001 ).”

 

Building on the Successes of the 1996 Welfare Reforms  

 

  • During the first session of the 109th Congress, the Committee on Education & the Workforce passed the Personal Responsibility, Work, and Family Protection Act (H.R. 240).  The measure, based on President Bush’s reform blueprint released in 2002, strengthens work requirements under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant program to help move more welfare recipients into productive jobs.  The measure also makes significant improvements to the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program and incorporates key elements of President Bush’s Good Start, Grow Smart plan to improve early childhood education.

 

  • Strengthening Work Requirements.  While the 1996 reforms significantly reduced welfare caseloads, a majority of TANF recipients today are still not working for their benefits.  The House-passed bill asks welfare recipients to engage in work activities and other constructive activities for 40 hours a week (up from the current 30-hour requirement) and requires states to move 70 percent of their caseloads into work activities by 2007.  It strengthens current law by insisting welfare recipients engage in work activities for at least 24 hours a week and in other constructive activities – such as education or job training – for the remaining 16 hours.

 

  • Boosting Child Care Funding.  Access to quality child care is essential to helping welfare families move from welfare to work, so the House-passed bill adds $2 billion over five years to the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG).  With welfare caseloads cut in half since the 1996 reform law was enacted, states are able to devote more money to expand access to quality child care.  The flexibility of the 1996 law is one of the reasons it has worked so well.  The House-passed bill gives states and localities even more flexibility to develop programs that best meet the needs of children and parents. 

 

  • Improving Early Childhood Education.  The House-passed bill incorporates key elements of the President’s Good Start, Grow Smart plan to improve early childhood education, encouraging states to address the cognitive needs of young children in child care to prepare them to enter school.  It also encourages states to create partnerships with public and private entities to increase the supply and quality of child care services, and to coordinate child care services with other education programs – including Head Start, Early Reading First, Even Start, and state-sponsored pre-kindergarten programs.

 

  • By strengthening work requirements and ensuring welfare families have access to quality child care, the Committee-passed welfare reform measure will put more Americans in productive jobs and on the path to self-reliance and independence.