Reforming Welfare, Strengthening Families

Congressman Bob Barr, May 17, 2002

One of the greatest accomplishments Republicans have made since we won majority control of Congress in 1994 has been to completely reform the welfare system in America. For decades, the government locked citizens into dead-end avenues of despair, and created a welfare state that held citizens in its grip for generations. In 1996, this all changed. The House and Senate, led by the GOP, reformed welfare, gave states latitude and incentives and made historical progress in promoting independence.

Many Democrats measure the success of welfare by how many people are on the system. But I believe success should be measured by how few people are on the welfare rolls. When Americans are able to stand on their own two feet, they can achieve a better future for themselves and their families, and contribute to society through work and ingenuity, rather than drain its resources.

The welfare reform law needs to be "reauthorized" by Congress this year or it will expire. In doing so, we have opportunities to strengthen what works and better help families across the country.

Before I offer new solutions to the problem of poverty, let me put welfare reform in perspective. Families have achieved independence. Welfare caseloads fell by 9 million -- from 14 million recipients in 1994 to just 5 million today. Promoting work has delivered results. Employment by mothers most likely to go on welfare rose by 40 percent between 1995 and 2000. And child poverty fell dramatically. Since 1996, nearly 3 million children have been lifted from poverty; the black child poverty rate is now at a record low, and the poverty rate among Hispanic children had its largest four-year decrease in history between 1996 and 2000.

Welfare dependency has plummeted since the 1996 law went into effect. The number of individuals receiving cash assistance has dropped by 56 percent. The people we helped went from welfare to the workforce - a win-win situation for both the individual and the government.

Now let me share with you ideas supported by Republicans in Congress and the White House. In order to strengthen the success of welfare reform, we should enhance the work requirements of those receiving welfare benefits, by increasing to 70 percent, from its current 50 percent, the percentage of welfare caseloads states must have in work programs. And welfare recipients should be required to work 40 hours per week instead of the current 30 hours per week.

Furthermore, to help strengthen families, the Bush Administration has unveiled a plan to promote marriage, with $300 million in the upcoming budget to encourage healthy marriages and two-parent married families as a goal. The programs include pre-marital education and counseling, as well as research and technical assistance into promising approaches that work. The facts are clear: stable marriages result in children who do better at school and are treated better at home.

States have been doing excellent work administering welfare programs, due in large measure to the flexibility granted them by Congress. We must continue this trend. As we further reform the welfare system, we must give states more latitude by allowing them to count up to 16 hours a week of education, job training or substance abuse treatment as work. This will help those who need help the most, a key goal of welfare reform.

Block grants from the federal government to the states will remain $16.5 billion per year. We will provide extra funding for poor states and generously fund the historically high levels for the child-care block grants.

Welfare reform is about lifting up needy Americans and helping them, by promoting independence. Men, women and children, of all races, creeds and ethnicities - benefit from a well-planned and carefully implemented anti-poverty measures. I will keep working to improve today’s system as we look to ahead to the challenges of tomorrow. Through this effort, we will secure America’s future.

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