Brady convenes hearing on transitioning welfare recipients to job market; committee approves Boustany, Buchanan bills

U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX), the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, convened a hearing on Tuesday that explored methods to end the cycle of poverty.

The hearing included testimony from legislators, former welfare recipients, representatives for nonprofit organizations and state officials on methods to transition individuals from welfare to the job market.

“Decades of experience tells us the most effective anti-poverty program is a job,” Brady said. “Yet, of those who are working-age and in poverty, nearly two in three are not working, many of them not by choice, but in large part because of the welfare system… For decades, money has been thrown blindly at (the welfare) system, without a genuine regard for effectiveness in actually delivering real results. This approach lacks compassion and respect for American families trapped in poverty.”

U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-OH), a member of the committee, said that the hearing was about getting families and individuals off of the social safety net and into the workforce.

“This shouldn’t be a partisan issue,” Tiberi said. “And I think we can agree over the last fifty years (the welfare system) hasn’t worked so well.”

U.S. Rep. Tom Rice (R-SC), who helped run a homeless shelter in South Carolina for 20 years, said that the only permanent solution to welfare is a job.

“Everybody wants to make sure that those who need a hand up get it,” Rice said. “But the truth is if you rely on these government programs and you don’t transition to work, you will always be in poverty. And likely your kids will always be in poverty, and your grandkids. Transitioning to work is the only way out of that trap.”

Additionally, bills introduced by U.S. Reps. Charles Boustany (R-LA) and Vern Buchanan (R-FL) to help alleviate poverty were approved on Tuesday by the House Ways and Means Committee.

Boustany introduced the Improving Employment Outcomes of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Recipients Act, H.R. 2952, to measure how successfully states are helping TANF recipients find jobs.

“(My bill) ensures a better focus on recipient outcomes and state performance through a common set of metrics,” Boustany said. “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.”

Buchanan, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources, introduced the What Works to Move Welfare Recipients Into Jobs Act, H.R. 5169. The legislation would promote local solutions with proven results that help transition people back to work by establishing a “What Works Clearinghouse” to itemize effective programs.

Buchanan said that the clearinghouse would make it easier for states to identify approaches that have been proven to transition people to the job market through testing and independent evaluations.

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

More Articles About Charles Boustany
More Articles About Entitlements