The recent passage of the American Health Care Act through the House of Representatives, though contentious, proves one point definitively: this government is fully capable of making progress when it puts its mind to it.
The Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) program which is within the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) began originally as a way to supplement food that had been deemed overproduced in the late 1930s. It lasted several years until it was deemed no longer necessary because overproduced goods were being marketed more efficiently while unemployment was decreasing.
America’s welfare system is not working. The War on Poverty has failed miserably , and few in Congress have even broached the topic of serious welfare reforms. Members of the House Freedom Caucus have led the way in the this Congress, but, aside from their efforts at real conservative reform, there is little traction for those seeking to make welfare sustainable. Luckily for Americans, Congress doesn’t control their fate, they do.
As Congress considers welfare reform many are quick to point out the political roadblocks facing actual progress. Although the crumbling welfare apparatus has become a focal point in recent congressional discourse due to the efforts of House conservatives within the Freedom Caucus it will still be an uphill fight to get lasting reforms pushed through at the federal level.
The federal welfare apparatus has bloomed into disastrous menagerie of nearly one hundred programs. Many in Congress are seeking a solution to the welfare leviathan’s imminent collapse.