• Background: 1996 reformed programs established in 1935 and 65
• Debate: Poor work ethic v. Does not address reasons for poverty
• Country Comparison: European countries have lower poverty and greater benefits
• Recent Legislation: Numerous reauthorizations

Background

• Social welfare are government programs that redistributes taxes to provide citizens with support services. In the United States, welfare programs are minimal and means-tested. They support disadvantaged populations such as the poor, elderly, disabled, students, mothers with children, and unpaid workers.
• The Social Security Act of 1935 provided for federally funded financial assistance to the elderly, the disabled and their dependent children. President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “War on Poverty” created two programs, Medicare and Medicaid, that extended medical insurance to the elderly and the poor in 1965.
• An ideological shift in lending assistance to impoverished people during the 1980s led to a campaign by President Clinton in which he promised to "end welfare as we know it." In 1996, Clinton approved the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). These reforms changed many state welfare programs by requiring a minimum amount of work in exchange for benefits ("workfare"); limiting recipients to a lifetime maximum of five years for receiving federal welfare; establishing stricter eligibility standards for Supplemental Security Income (which excluded many poor disabled children from benefits); and ending the federal guarantee of cash assistance for poor children.
• Before 1997, the welfare program for households with children named Aid to Dependent Children, later called Aid to Families with Dependent Children and was administered by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The PRWORA replaced this program with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Other federal welfare programs include Head Start and Job Corps.

Debate

• Welfare retrenchment works; PRWORA resulted a reduction of over 50% in welfare enrollment. Before welfare reform in the 1990s, "welfare queens" were cheating the system and receiving multiple checks each month. Taxpayer dollars were funding their personal wealth. In addition, welfare entitlement programs discourage able bodied adults from finding work and perpetuates a culture of poverty.
• The 5 year limits in the PRWORA are too short. The goal should not be reducing welfare rolls, it should be reducing poverty. PRWORA did not reduce poverty and in fact, the U.S. has a markedly higher poverty rate, infant mortality rate, and child poverty rates than all other nations with greater welfare protections. Workfare is not the solution. Before reform, welfare recipients would stay on welfare because they would lose Medicaid benefits as soon they found employment but their minimum-wage jobs would not provide health insurance. Most often, they could not afford child care or private health insurance. Welfare reform should address the flaws in our health care system and train unskilled workers for higher paid jobs.

Country Comparison

• Most European countries provide relatively comprehensive social services either universally, or to a wide selection of the population. In many countries, such as Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, and France, social welfare programs are a source of pride because they represent society's commitment to assisting people who are disadvantaged. Most European countries offer benefits based on citizenship which has proven to attract support more support for welfare programs in general than in the U.S., where eligibility is based on income level.

Recent Legislation

• The original bill was set to expire in September of 2002 and Congress has passed numerous reauthorizations to continue to program.
• The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 reauthorizes the 1996 bill and requires TANF recipients to participate in 20 hours per week (or 30 hours in cases where the youngest child is older than 5 years).