TANF Work Requirements Rule Examined by House Committee

On February 28, the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources held a hearing, “Waiving Work Requirements in the TANF Program.” In September 2012, the House passed a resolution disapproving of the July 12, 2012 rule issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regarding work requirements under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program (see The Source, 9/21/12).

Chair Dave Reichert (R-WA) and Ranking Member Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) heard testimony regarding the administration’s rule, which grants the secretary of HHS the authority to waive section 402 of the Social Security Act (42 USC 1315) to allow states to “test alternative and innovative employment outcomes for needy families.” The administration noted that such a waiver would be approved only if states “move at least 20 percent more people from welfare to work compared with the state’s past performance.”

The following individuals testified before the subcommittee:

• Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT);
• Kay E. Brown, Director, Education, Workforce, and Income Security, U.S. Government Accountability Office;
• Jason Turner, Executive Director, Secretary’s Innovation Group;
• Elizabeth Lower-Basch, Policy Coordinator and Senior Policy Analyst, Center for Law and Social Policy; and
• Douglas Besharov, Professor, School of Public Policy, University of Maryland.