Press Releases

On Thursday, September 13 at 10:00 a.m., the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, chaired by Rep. John Kline (R-MN), will hold a markup of H.J.Res. 118, a resolution of disapproval of the Obama administration’s proposed plan to waive successful welfare work requirements. The markup will take place in room 2175 of the Rayburn House Office Building. 

In 1996, Congress passed and President Bill Clinton signed into law historic, bipartisan reforms to the nation’s welfare system. The law’s central requirement that able bodied individuals work, prepare for work, or search for work in order to receive benefits helped millions of Americans move off welfare and into a job.

Despite the success of welfare reform, President Obama’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently issued a memorandum allowing states to seek a waiver from the law’s important work requirements. The administration’s controversial waiver policy unwinds years of progress in moving families from welfare to work. Furthermore, current law provides limited and explicit waiver authority to the HHS Secretary, but it does not state the secretary can waive Section 407 of the Social Security Act, which outlines federal work requirements.   

An analysis by the Government Accountability Office determined the administration’s waiver policy is a rule under the Congressional Review Act and therefore must be submitted to Congress. In response, House leaders introduced H.J.Res. 118, a resolution of disapproval that would prohibit the HHS Secretary from implementing its welfare waiver policy announced in July.

To learn more about this markup, visit www.republicans-edlabor.house.gov/markups. To learn more about H.J.Res. 118, click here.

 

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