Carter Fights to Protect Historic Welfare Reform Law

Congress is fighting back against the Obama Administration attempt to undermine the most successful welfare reform law in U.S. history with the support of House Republican Conference Secretary John Carter, who is cosponsoring legislation to block the change.

“The 1996 Welfare Reform bill is one of the greatest bipartisan accomplishments of the last forty years, and it is being unilaterally destroyed by this Administration,” says Carter. “We have a President who believes he can ignore the laws of the nation, and simply order his henchmen to re-write federal policy to his liking with no consideration of the voters or the Congress.  This action must be reversed, not only for the protection of welfare reform, but for the sake of our entire system of republican democracy.”

Carter has cosponsored H.R. 6140 by Representatives Dave Camp (R-MI), John Kline (R-MN), and Jim Jordan (R-OH), which would prevent the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from issuing waivers of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) work requirements.  The HHS waivers seek to circumvent the law and undermine the intent of Congress, marking just the latest Administration action to this effect.