Weekly Column: Welfare Reform 30 Years Later--Work Works

Welfare reform proves we can exercise common sense while being compassionate and fiscally responsible at the same time. The work requirements of the 1996 welfare reform law help ensure federal safety net programs can reach their intended recipients—America’s vulnerable children, low-income seniors and individuals with disabilities. Provisions in the Working Families Tax Cuts build on these improvements, maintaining work as key to reducing poverty and supporting American families in need. In 1996, I joined a bipartisan, bicameral group of colleagues in voting to pass the welfare reform bill. One of its key changes was to replace an ineffective cash handout system with one focused on encouraging self-sufficiency. In the 30 years since, this landmark legislation’s reforms have led to undeniable intergenerational success. The results include significant increases in work and earnings for single mothers. Reviewing census data, Brookings reported that earnings leaped an astounding 136 percent to constitute almost 57 percent of the income of low-income mother-headed families by 2000, when earnings had constituted 30 percent of those families’ incomes in 1993. Additionally, there have been broad declines in benefit dependence. The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service reports the number of families receiving temporary financial assistance dropped from a high of 5.1 million in March 1994 to less than 1 million in 2025, an 80 percent decline. This shift from government dependence back into good-paying work is exactly what good welfare policy is designed to facilitate. Further, it has provided considerable savings to taxpayers. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) found reforms like holding the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grants constant has resulted in an estimated $180 billion in real total savings over the 1997-2024 period. In the Working Families Tax Cuts, Republicans expanded on these reforms by enacting provisions that strengthen and preserve Medicaid for the people who need it most. The law takes sensible steps to ensure Medicaid payments are not going to certain noncitizens, beneficiaries who have died or are enrolled in multiple states and increases the frequency of eligibility verifications for able-bodied adults. It establishes work requirements for able-bodied adults and asks them to work, enroll in school or volunteer for 20 hours per week to receive taxpayer-subsidized Medicaid coverage. This does not apply to anyone who is disabled or pregnant, among other exemptions. The law also restricts other noncitizen groups from being eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly referred to as food stamps. In sum, AEI characterized the Working Families Tax Cuts as, “taking significant steps toward increasing work and reducing welfare dependence and fraud by strengthening work requirements for food stamps and Medicaid.” We paired these reforms with other compassionate provisions that strengthen American families ’ economic positions. During this year’s tax filing season, nearly 40 million families claimed the enhanced Child Tax Credit and more than 127 million taxpayers benefited from the permanently doubled standard deduction. Millions are also expected to benefit from enhanced benefits related to child and dependent care that took effect starting this year . These policies were made permanent in the Working Families Tax Cuts, helping hardworking Americans get ahead . For decades, America’s social safety net programs have helped some of our nation’s most vulnerable populations. Commonsense reforms that target waste and fraud and ensure these programs are not a lifetime handout for able-bodied, working-age adults help ensure this needed assistance will be available for families in need for many more years to come. # # #