Welfare Reform Act

Alex HolmesJordan Harvey-Morgan

Joe DavenportReagan Churan

September 27, 2010

Part I: Background Research

The Welfare Reform Act

Major Provisions of the Legislation

It got rid of the Aid to Dependent Children/ Aid to Families with Dependent Children

It requires most people receiving welfare to engage in job activities (ie. Job experience, community service, vocational school)

Regulates how long a family can be on welfare. State powers.

Explanations

The Aid to Dependent Children/ Aid to Families with Dependent Children made it possible for single mothers of dependent children to stay at home and take care of their children.

No more than two years could pass before the parents had to be in a job, or in job training.

No recipient could have more than five years of assistance cumulatively.

It allowed the state to lessen allocations and also limit the time a family was on welfare.

Opposition

Republicans wanted all able bodied people to work, including single mothers.

Republicans also opposed continuing federal promises to feed and offer medical care to dependent children.

Liberals thought that the bill that was signed was too harsh, and that the work requirements were unreasonable.

Liberals also felt that it effectively ended welfare.

Rationale

This bill was not easy to pass. President Clinton vetoed two bills before signing the final

one. There was considerable criticism of the bill from both

parties. President Clinton originally started out trying to make

welfare more accessible to lower class Americans.

Part II: Issues with Federalism

The Welfare Reform Act

The violated reserved power

The power to pass pass laws that deal with the welfare of citizens resides with the state

The federal government is able to regulate this because of its relation to

1. Social Security. 2. Necessary and proper clause

The Liberal View

The reform makes it too difficult for single mothers to survive along with their children

It has reduced poverty substantially

The Conservative View

Minimize welfare◦It begins to do more bad than good for many

Dependence on welfare lowers the IQ of children

The Libertarian View

The government should do away with the social welfare system.◦The government has spent more than 3.5

trillion dollars on ending poverty and it has only created more poverty

The crime rate soars for people who are on welfare

Issues with the Federal Government:

One of the main issues that the federal government had with the Welfare Reform Act was its role in it. In some aspects of it, the government has been viewed as too intrusive while assisting families. There is also an issue with financing the Act without altering taxes. An even larger issue is dependency. Support from the government could encourage many families to stop looking for work. The Act gives the States the power to set its own time limit on the federal aid. But aid is denied to those on welfare for more than five years. So the issue is certain recipients losing eligibility for welfare as a result of state time limits.

Other Relevant Issues:

  Going along with Nixon’s “New Federalisms”, The Welfare Reform Act increased government involvement in welfare programs. It gave more power to the States, but also created restrictions on how the money could be spent. It reduced the control that the federal government had on grants as well.