In recognition of the 25th anniversary of successful bipartisan welfare reform in 1996 that created Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Ways and Means Republican Leader Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) and Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-IN), Republican Leader for the Worker and Family Support Subcommittee, will host a virtual roundtable titled “Building on Welfare Reform’s Success in Lifting Americans Out of Poverty – Rather Than Move Backward” on Tuesday, July 20, at 11 am ET.

The meeting will feature a discussion with key former and current Republican leaders and experts on anti-poverty welfare reforms that can further improve TANF and promote personal responsibility, time limits on eligibility, and work requirements.

The meeting will also highlight the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which unleashed a historic reduction in poverty thanks to policies like those included in the JOBS for Success Act. Republicans will discuss these modern approaches like investing in marginalized workers, promoting access to jobs, and developing the workforce – linking federal benefits to the pursuit of work and the skills that lead to work.

BACKGROUND:
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act reduced poverty to a historic low by providing more jobs, and the highest wage gains for the lowest earning Americans. The last thing Americans need is higher taxes to pay for Democrats’ untargeted welfare-without-work policies.

President Biden is using temporary emergency COVID relief as a backdoor to create permanent welfare-without-work programs that undermine the progress we have made, foster greater dependence on government, and reduce job opportunities.

Rather than lift barriers to economic independence, Democrats are repurposing the Child Tax Credit as a new untargeted welfare check, banning entry level jobs through wage mandates, or pushing other policies that limit the path out of poverty.
With 9.3 million job openings and a national worker shortage in a post-COVID economy, lawmakers should not be anchoring those in poverty to endless checks — we should be empowering them to seize on greater opportunity and succeed.

Members of the public may view the meeting via live webcast available on the Ways and Means Committee Republicans YouTube page HERE.