Shift in Welfare Policy Draws G.O.P. Protests

From The New York Times:

A move by the Obama administration to give states more latitude in running federal welfare-to-work programs has set off a firestorm among Republicans, who say it undercuts the work requirements set forth in the 1996 overhaul of welfare policy.       

The Department of Health and Human Services announced last week that it would grant states waivers to experiment with how they administer the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which distributes aid to the poorest Americans while they look for work.

The directive results from a broader effort by the Obama administration to peel back unnecessary layers of bureaucracy and allow states to spend federal money more efficiently. But Republicans, who characterize the move as a power grab by the executive branch, have criticized the waivers, saying they prove that the president and Democrats support providing welfare money without encouraging the recipients to find work.

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program is derived from welfare legislation in 1996, which created it as a block grant to states. In the fiscal year 2011, more than 4.4 million people in more than 1.8 million families nationwide were enrolled in the program, which received more than $20.8 billion in federal money.

      

What is happening now is a result of a presidential memo in February 2011 that urged executive departments and agencies to ask states for ideas on how to make the federal government more nimble. As the Health and Human Services Department began to solicit suggestions, a handful of states complained about being burdened by the welfare program’s paperwork and reporting requirements.

Even with waivers, some states’ experimentation with welfare will probably be sharply limited by constricted budgets.