Congress to Block Obama Admin. Welfare Law Changes

Last week, the General Accounting Office (GAO) determined that the Obama administration did change the work requirements in the Welfare Reform Act. On Thursday, two House committees — Ways and Means and Education and the Workforce — will introduce resolutions to allow Congress to block the rule change that allows states to effectively waive the law’s work requirements.  

The Obama administration effectively gutted the successful welfare law, allowing states to redefine what constitutes work and using the flawed “employment exits” (the more people get on welfare programs, the more people will presumably exit) numbers to allow states to waive the work requirements completely. 

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI) asked the GAO to review Obama’s rule change, and Hatch accused the Obama administration of thinking it does not have to “live by these Constitutional constraints.” The GAO said Congress must have an opportunity to reject Obama’s rule changes.