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Committee on Ways & Means
Subcommittee on Human Resources

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 23, 2001
Contact: 202-225-8933

Hope and Opportunity Delivered to Families
Welfare Reform Demonstrates Success at Five Year Mark

WASHINGTON, DC – Today marks the fifth anniversary of welfare reform, which was signed into law on August 22, 1996. The five-year accomplishments of this law are considerable, including: (1) the numbers of current and former welfare recipients who are working are at record levels; (2) more than 2 million children have left poverty as families replaced welfare with work; and (3) national welfare caseloads have been cut in half, which has no precedent in American history.

"The 1996 welfare reform law has made a tremendous difference in the quality of life for the American people," stated Human Resources Subcommittee Chairman Wally Herger (R-CA). "Millions of low-income families are replacing welfare with work and building brighter futures for themselves and their children. It’s gratifying to see so many families benefiting from these positive changes."

"Many believed low-income families could not work and support themselves. Fortunately, those naysayers were wrong. The evidence of the past five years demonstrates that by expecting and promoting work – offering health care, child care, and generous earned income credits – millions of families can and will leave welfare for jobs," continued Herger.

"Work is up, poverty is down significantly, and dependence on cash assistance has fallen by record levels. We are even witnessing impressive trends regarding marriage and the formation of two-parent households, which promises long-term benefits for children. Although obstacles remain, we have built a strong foundation on which to combat future challenges to low income families," concluded Herger.

The results of the 1996 welfare reform law will be evaluated in 2002 as the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash welfare block grant program is re-authorized.

The percentage of working welfare recipients reached an all-time high in FY 1999.

Hourly wage rates for the lowest-paid workers have risen after falling for two decades.

The poorest 40 percent of single mother families increased their earnings by about $2,300 per family on average between 1995 and 1999, after adjusting for inflation.

More than 2 million children have been lifted out of poverty since 1996.

The black child poverty rate and the poverty rate for children living with single mothers are both at the lowest points in U.S. history.

Cash welfare caseloads fell more than 50 percent nationwide, to their lowest levels since 1965, as more than 2 million families including 4 million children left the rolls.

In Wisconsin caseloads fell 90 percent; welfare no longer exists in some counties.

Federal funds per TANF family more than doubled to over $8,000 per year because caseloads were cut in half while Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds were fixed and child care funds grew.

Safety net programs such as Workforce Investment Act job training and education services, the Child Care and Development Block Grant, Medicaid, and the Earned Income Credit have been strengthened over time to help families find and keep jobs and leave welfare. Now parents who accept even minimum wage jobs are financially better off than they were on welfare.

In all, Federal and State means-tested benefits totaled more than $400 billion in FY 2000, up from about $200 billion in 1990.