End of welfare reform?

[Gerry Clinchy]

http://www.foundry.org/2012/07/12/ob...elfare-reform/

I'm sure some will complain that this is unreliable since it comes from a conservative source ... but it could be worth noting for future reference

Today, the Obama Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released an official policy directive rewriting the welfare reform law of 1996. The new policy guts the federal work requirements that were the foundation of the reform law. The Obama directive bludgeons the letter and intent of the actual reform legislation.

Section 1115 states that “the Secretary may waive compliance with any of the requirements” of specified parts of various laws. But this is not an open-ended authority: Any provision of law that can be waived under section 1115 must be listed in section 1115 itself. The work provisions of the TANF program are contained in section 407 (entitled, appropriately, “mandatory work requirements”). Critically, this section, as well as most other TANF requirements, are deliberately not listed in section 1115; they are not waiveable.
In establishing TANF, Congress deliberately exempted or shielded nearly all of the TANF program from the section 1115 waiver authority. They did not want the law to be rewritten at the whim of Health and Human Services (HHS) bureaucrats. Of the roughly 35 sections of the TANF law, only one is listed as waiveable under section 1115. This is section 402.
Section 402 describes state plans—reports that state governments must file to HHS describing the actions they will undertake to comply with the many requirements established in the other sections of the TANF law. The authority to waive section 402 provides the option to waive state reporting requirements only, not to overturn the core requirements of the TANF program contained in the other sections of the TANF law.
The new Obama dictate asserts that because the work requirements, established in section 407, are mentioned as an item that state governments must report about in section 402, all the work requirements can be waived. This removes the core of the TANF program; TANF becomes a blank slate that HHS bureaucrats and liberal state bureaucrats can rewrite at will.
Congressional Research Service: “There Are No TANF Waivers”
In a December 2001 document, “Welfare Reform Waivers and TANF,” the non-partisan Congressional Research Service clarified that the limited authority to waive state reporting requirement in section 402 does not grant authority to override work and other major requirements in the other sections of the TANF law (sections that were deliberately not listed under the section 1115 waiver authority):

I don't know how well the reforms of 1996 held up over time, but it would certainly appear that this latest move won't make the situation better.

[Uncle Bill]

More of the same. The lefties have to be deleriously happy...their messiah has again thumbed his nose at America. If you Democrats don't see this act as pure opprobrium, how can you claim to be concerned for America? Where does this childish crap end? If this country returns this horrible example of a human being to power in the White House, you will have signed the death knell for your offspring...and I don't give a FRA what sort of "fear mongering" Buzz acuses me of.

Stick your head in the sand Sarge, Buzz, Sambo, et al, but the candidate you support is a muslim phoney...a complete farce as President of the USA...and sadly, YOU ALL DAMN-WELL KNOW IT!!!

UB Obama Guts Welfare Reform With Executive Order

Written By:
Rob Port
Jul 13, 2012



One of the real policy successes of the 1990′s, something both Republicans and former President Bill Clinton (though he first vetoed reforms twice) take credit for, is welfare reform that put an emphasis on urging a return to work and self-sufficiency. Specifically, the reforms tied welfare support to certain return to work requirements that, in turn, were protected by Congress from being waived by federal bureaucrats at the Department of Health and Human Services.

But now, with an executive order, President Obama has dismissed that restriction on waivers opening the door for welfare recipients getting benefits without an expectation that they return to work:

Welfare reform replaced the old Aid to Families with Dependent Children with a new program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The Heritage Foundation played a pivotal role in building bipartisan consensus for the reform and providing many of the recommendations that became part of the law. The whole point was that able-bodied adults should be required to work or prepare for work as a condition of receiving welfare aid.

This reform was very successful. TANF became the only welfare program (out of more than 70) that promoted greater self-reliance. It moved 2.8 million families off the welfare rolls and into jobs so that they were providing for themselves. Child poverty fell, and single-parent employment rose. Recipients were required to perform at least 20–30 hours per week of work or job preparation activities in exchange for the cash benefit.

Now, Obama’s HHS is claiming that it can waive those work requirements that are at the heart of the law, and without Congress’s consent.

When it established TANF, Congress deliberately exempted or shielded nearly all of the TANF program from waiver authority. They explicitly did not want the law to be rewritten at the whim of HHS bureaucrats. In a December 2001, the non-partisan Congressional Research Service clarified that there was no authority to override work and other major requirements: “Effectively, there are no TANF waivers,” it reported.

But that did not stop the Obama Administration, which has been increasing welfare spending at an alarming rate already.

In effect, President Obama has re-written the law without bothering to get the approval of Congress. Not only is that an abuse of executive power, it results in more social policy that promotes government dependence instead of self-sufficiency.

I’m not sure there is any more fundamental measure for the success or failure of government social policy than the number of people who are on the government dole. Under President Obama, whether we’re talking about food stamps or other programs, government dependence has exploded.

Obama, and his fellow Democrats, not only don’t seem troubled by this they seem to want to actively promote it.

[gmhr1]

I hope we can survive till nov Obama is doing everything he can to destroy it.

[Didley]

I'll tell you when welfare reform will end: when every American depends on it and thus won't vote anyone in office that doesn't believe in handouts for everyone.

[gmhr1]

You dont have to work to get welfare and free health care, it doesnt get much better. I'm afraid to turn on the tv each day for fear of what Obama is going to wave his hands over and make disappear. Its a long time till Nov, we are helpless

[Uncle Bill]

I'll tell you when welfare reform will end: when every American depends on it and thus won't vote anyone in office that doesn't believe in handouts for everyone.

It won't take "every American", just a majority...close to what we have now. If the real Americans don't succeed in the coming election, 4 more years of the current oligarchy will doom this nation to 'government by the SFN crowd'.


UB

[roseberry]

recieving welfare for > 6 months and being allowed to vote are conflicts of interest.