Boehner, McKeon Applaud Six-Year Anniversary of Welfare Reform, Express Dismay Over Senate Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Education & the Workforce Committee Chairman John Boehner (R-OH) and 21st Century Competitiveness Subcommittee Chairman Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA) today hailed the six-year anniversary of the historic 1996 welfare reform law. The lawmakers also expressed concern over several provisions in a Senate bill to reauthorize the legislation, scheduled to expire this September. Approved last month by the Senate Finance Committee and authored by Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), the bill would significantly weaken President Bush’s reform plan and threaten the successes of the ’96 law.

“The ’96 welfare reform law is one of the most successful social policies ever enacted by Congress,” Boehner said. “I’m proud to have supported those reforms when they were enacted, and now I’m looking forward to building on their success.”

“However,” he continued, “I’m concerned that the Senate is going in exactly the wrong direction.”

On May 16, the Republican-led House approved the Personal Responsibility, Work and Family Promotion Act (H.R. 4737) by a vote of 229-197, keeping intact the President’s proposals to strengthen current work requirements as well as significantly increasing child care funding. But the Senate bill, in contrast, would gut the President’s plan, which aims to strengthen work requirements and lead even more welfare recipients to self-sufficiency.

“The Senate bill, at best, is just a continuation of the status quo,” said McKeon, co-author of the House welfare reform measure. “At worst,” he continued, “it could reverse some of the gains we’ve made over the last five years.”

According to the Health & Human Services (HHS) Department, a majority -- 58 percent -- of welfare recipients still aren’t working for their benefits, suggesting that states, having met the ’96 law’s caseload reduction requirements, have room to be more aggressive in helping those still on the rolls to achieve self-sufficiency.

“The ’96 welfare reform law has done its job, but now we can improve it,” said Boehner. “It’s time for us to enter into the second phase of welfare reform.”

The House-approved bill would require welfare recipients to engage in a mix of work activities, education, or job training for a full, 40-hour workweek. The Baucus-authored bill would maintain the current 30-hour requirement for individuals; it also would significantly water down the President’s proposal of increasing to 70 percent the work participation rate for states.

“The 40-hour workweek is standard practice for ordinary Americans, and it’s what employers expect,” McKeon said. “By not strengthening these work requirements, we’d be doing a disservice to welfare recipients by not adequately preparing them for the workplace.”

President Bush, in a recent speech on welfare reform in Charleston, S.C., touted the flexibility of his 40-hour workweek proposal, with its emphasis on helping individuals obtain education and training in addition to on-the-job experience. “It is so important that we have high standards and flexibility,” the President said, and to “also recognize that people need help.”

“We know we can do better than we’ve been doing over the last five years, but I’m afraid the Senate bill is a step backwards,” Boehner said. “President Bush’s approach would build on the successes of the ’96 reforms and lead thousands of Americans out of dependence and into self-sufficient, productive lives.”

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