FreedomWorks

The Issue

In 1996, the Republican Congress and then-President Bill Clinton agreed on landmark legislation to overhaul the nation’s welfare system.

The passage of welfare reform was clearly an important public policy accomplishment. Since passage, Heritage Foundation researchers found:

• Poverty dropped substantially. According to the Census Bureau, 3.5 million fewer people live in poverty today than in 1995.
• Fewer children live in poverty. Some 2.9 million fewer children live in poverty today than in 1995, and the poverty rate for black children has fallen to the lowest point in U.S. history. The poverty rate of children living with single mothers is also at the lowest point in U.S. history.
• There is a reduced interest in welfare. Under TANF, caseloads have been more than cut in half because individuals have found employment.

The FreedomWorks Position

On February 13, 2003, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 4, the “Personal Responsibility, Work, and Family Promotion Act of 2003,” which reauthorizes funding for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to 2008. The bill preserves the reforms of 1996 and even strengthens the work and training requirements. A reauthorized and strengthened TANF program will continue to help needy families attain self-sufficiency and economic independence and end the vicious cycle of state dependency. CSE urges the Senate to follow the House of Representatives’ lead and pass legislation that would strengthen and reauthorize TANF as soon as possible.