Romney Campaign Press Release - President Obama Ended Welfare As We Know It

"Middle-class Americans are struggling in the Obama economy. But, instead of working to get them back on their feet, President Obama is unilaterally dismantling President Clinton's welfare reforms. Instead of tough work requirements, the President's policies could change welfare to work into old-fashioned welfare. As president, Mitt Romney will restore the bipartisan work requirement in welfare so that workers have the dignity of a job and not just a handout." —Andrea Saul, Romney Campaign Spokesperson

Last Month, The Obama Administration "Gutted" Clinton-Era Welfare Reforms By Authorizing "Waivers To States" From Work Requirements:

The Obama Administration "Is Opening Up Waivers To States From The Work Requirements" That Are A Part Of President Clinton's Historic Welfare Reform Bill. "After the Obama administration announced this week that it is opening up waivers to states from the work requirements contained in welfare reform, Republicans began to speak out against the move, complaining it completely undercuts the law." (John Parkinson, "Upending Welfare Reform?" ABC News, 6/13/12)

The Obama Administration's Welfare Changes "Quietly Opened The Door For States To Seek Major Changes" In Work Requirements. "The Obama administration has quietly opened the door for states to seek major changes in how they meet federal welfare-to-work requirements for some of their poorest residents, and leading conservatives are crying foul." ("Obama Administration Opens The Door For States To Seek Major Changes In Welfare-To-Work Law," The Associated Press, 7/13/12)

• The Associated Press Headline: "Obama Administration Opens The Door For States To Seek Major Changes In Welfare-To-Work Law" (Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, "Obama Administration Opens The Door For States To Seek Major Changes In Welfare-To-Work Law," The Associated Press, 7/13/12)

Detroit News: President Obama "Tossed Out The Clinton-Era Welfare Reform That Required Able-Bodied Aid Recipients To Work." "Democrats and Republicans alike should be distressed by President Barack Obama's disregard for constitutional limits on his authority. The president's flouting of the separation of powers risks turning this country into something other than a representative democracy. Congress should move in a bipartisan rebuke of Obama's overreach before he neuters that institution. In a blatant challenge to the legislative branch, Obama by executive order tossed out the Clinton-era welfare reform that required able-bodied aid recipients to work, saying the federal government will no longer enforce the law." (Editorial, "Obama's Power Grab Flouts Constitution," Detroit News, 8/6/12)

The Racine Journal Times: "If Congress And Clinton Had Wanted A Waiver In The TANF Legislation, They Would Have Put One 16 Years Ago. They Didn't." (Editorial, "Keep Welfare, Work Linked," Racine Journal Times, 7/21/12)

The Youngtown Vindicator: "Clinton Signed The Welfare Reform Bill ... Yet Now The Obama Administration Wants To Let States Opt Out Of The Bill's Work Requirement, Which Forced Many People To Get Jobs." "While Clinton was willing to compromise with congressional Republicans, Obama and congressional Democrats are not. ... Yet now the Obama administration wants to let states opt out of the bill's work requirement, which forced many people to get jobs. Instead of requiring people to work, Health and Human Services wants to grant states waivers to the work provision so that they can 'test alternative and innovative strategies, policies, and procedures that are designed to improve employment outcomes for needy families.'" (Editorial, "Obama Is No Bill Clinton," The Youngstown Vindicator, 8/3/12)

• The Youngstown Vindicator: "What Alternative Strategy Is There To An Honest Day's Work For An Honest Day's Pay?" (Editorial, "Obama Is No Bill Clinton," The Youngstown Vindicator, 8/3/12)

The Washington Examiner: "With An Official Policy Directive, Obama Gutted President Clinton's 1996 Bipartisan Welfare Reform By Removing The Federal Requirement That Those On Welfare Either Work Or Train For Work." (Editorial, "Obama Unilaterally Unreforms Welfare," The Washington Examiner, 7/14/12)

But The Reforms Passed By President Clinton And Republicans In Congress Represented A "Historic Reversal Of The Entitlement Welfare":

Welfare Reforms Passed By President Clinton And Republicans In Congress "Reduced The Number Of People Receiving Monthly Cash Benefits From 12.2 Million To 4.2 Million." "During the past decade, welfare reform, known as TANF, or Temporary Aid to Needy Families, has reduced the number of people receiving monthly cash benefits from 12.2 million to 4.2 million." (Steve Levin, "10 Years Of Welfare Reform Assessed," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 3/16/12)

"The Earnings Of Women Who Left Welfare Rose By More Than Their Cash Assistance Fell: On Balance Their Net Incomes Increased By About 25%..." "The earnings of women who left welfare rose by more than their cash assistance fell: on balance their net incomes increased by about 25% in real terms over the first few years, according to Ron Haskins of the Brookings Institution, a centrist think-tank." ("From Welfare To Workfare," The Economist, 7/26/06)

One Year After Clinton-Era Welfare Reforms Passed, Welfare Enrollment Declines Were "The Deepest And Most Sustained In U.S. History." "One year after a far-reaching welfare reform law ended 60 years of guaranteed support for the poor, the Clinton administration released figures yesterday showing public assistance rolls continuing to decline sharply with the percentage of people on welfare at its lowest level since 1970. ... The decline, at a rate of 200,000 a month, is the deepest and most sustained in U.S. history." (John F. Harris And Judith Havemann, "Welfare Rolls Continue Sharp Decline," The Washington Post, 8/13/97)

President Clinton's Welfare Reforms "Had The Effect Of Pushing People Off Welfare Rolls And Into Jobs." "And over the years — in up times and in down — TANF has had the effect of pushing people off welfare rolls and into jobs by enforcing work-seeking requirements and limiting how long families can get aid. That was the original intention, and Obama's decision to undo that linkage is a perilous one." (Editorial, "Keep Welfare, Work Linked," Racine Journal Times, 7/21/12)

Brookings Institution's Ron Haskins, On President Clinton's Welfare Reforms: "Emphasis On Work, Time Limits, And Sanctions Against States ...  A Historic Reversal Of The Entitlement Welfare..." "The most important reform was the replacement of the old Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The research on TANF yields a coherent picture that will almost certainly stand the test of time. With its emphasis on work, time limits, and sanctions against states that did not place a large fraction of its caseload in work programs and against individuals who refused to meet state work requirements, TANF was a historic reversal of the entitlement welfare represented by AFDC." (Ron Haskins, "The Outcomes Of 1996 Welfare Reform, Testimony, House Committee On Ways And Means, 7/19/06)

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