The Significant Accomplishments of Welfare Reform

Today during the Ways and Means Committee hearing on Welfare Reforms, the results and outcomes of the 1996 welfare reform law were discussed.  It has been ten years since this legislation was enacted and I am very pleased to bear witness to the significant accomplishments of this legislation.

Essentially, since its inception, this program has brought millions of Americans out of poverty and into the workforce.  Poverty among families led by single mothers, the group most likely to go on welfare, dropped 15 percent from 1996 to 2004.  The overall child poverty rate dropped 13 percent in the same timeframe meaning 1.4 million fewer children living in poverty.  I am confident that these programs will continue to flourish and bring more Americans out of poverty and into employment.