Today, Ways and Means Members took more action to help more Americans escape poverty and climb the economic ladder by passing two bills to improve the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.

These bills are part of a commonsense package of proposals to ensure TANF – one of the nation’s most important anti-poverty programs – effectively spends taxpayer dollars to help those most in need.

The Committee today approved the following bills:

H.R. 2952, the Improving Employment Outcomes of TANF Recipients Act. This proposal measures state success in helping TANF recipients find a job and build a successful career. As bill sponsor Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA) said:

“[My bill] ensures a better focus on recipient outcomes and state performance through a common set of metrics. […] Since one of the main goals of TANF is to help move individuals from welfare to work, we should measure TANF’s ability to do just that.”

H.R. 5169, the What Works to Move Welfare Recipients Into Jobs Act. This bill promotes proven local solutions that help more people get back to work by establishing a “What Works Clearinghouse” to catalogue effective programs. Human Resources Subcommittee Chairman Vern Buchanan (R-FL) explained:

“This clearinghouse […] would make it easier for states to know which approaches work because they have been tested using independent, rigorous evaluations.

“The clearinghouse would also document which approaches have been proven not to work, to prevent other states from repeating the same failed efforts.”

Click here to learn more about the Ways and Means Committee’s commitment to ensuring our anti-poverty programs serve the best interests of Americans in need.