After Stimulus Failure, Dems Waive Welfare Work Rules

September 13, 2012

After Stimulus Failure, Dems Waive Welfare Work Rules

Increasingly Extreme Democrats Gut Bipartisan Welfare Reform Work Requirements in Tacit Admission That They Have Failed to Create Jobs

A recent GAO report confirmed that the Obama administration may have violated the law when it unilaterally waived welfare work requirements without consulting Congress.
The Democrats’ move to gut a popular bipartisan reform is a tacit admission that too many Americans simply can’t find jobs in the Democrats’ economy.
It’s a sad reminder that as poverty has risen under Democrat control of Washington, the Democrats’ policies have encouraged government dependency and only made things worse for those most in need.

A recent GAO report confirmed that the Obama administration may have violated the law when it unilaterally waived welfare work requirements without consulting Congress:

“WELFARE SHIFT SHOULD BE PUT BEFORE CONGRESS, GAO SAYS”: “The Government Accountability Office said Tuesday that the Obama administration should give Congress the chance to block its plan that lets states tweak a welfare-type program that pays needy families.” (Louise Radonofsky and Damian Paletta, “Welfare Shift Should Be Put Before Congress, GAO Says,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/4/2012)

WELFARE REFORM ARCHITECT ROBERT RECTOR: OBAMA “GUTTED” WELFARE REFORM’S WORK REQUIREMENTS: (Robert Rector, “Robert Rector: How Obama is Gutting Welfare Reform,” The New Hampshire Union Leader, 9/10/2012)

FIRST TIME IN 15 YEARS HHS HAS TRIED TO ISSUE WAIVERS FROM WELFARE REFORM WORK REQUIREMENTS: “The members of Congress closely involved in drafting this law have asserted that Obama’s action contradicts the letter and intent of the statute. For 15 years after welfare reform was enacted, no waivers of work requirements were issued by HHS. No such waivers were discussed because it was clear to all that Congress had never provided the department with such waiver authority.” (Robert Rector, “Robert Rector: How Obama is Gutting Welfare Reform,” The New Hampshire Union Leader, 9/10/2012)

WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY JAY CARNEY DENIES OBAMA WAIVED WORK REQUIREMENTS: (“Candidates Spar Over Welfare Reform on the Campaign Trail,” PBS News Hour, 8/9/2012)

The Democrats’ move to gut a popular bipartisan reform is a tacit admission that too many Americans simply can’t find jobs in the Democrats’ economy:

WHOPPING 83% FAVOR WELFARE WORK REQUIREMENTS:(“83% Favor Welfare Work Requirements,” Rasmussen Reports, 7/18/2012)

“NOWHERE TO HIDE IN A REPORT THAT PAINTED A PICTURE OF AN ANEMIC ECONOMIC RECOVERY”:(Ben White, “Jobs Report Challenges Obama’s Economic Message,” Politico, 9/7/2012)

ECONOMIST: “IT’S HARD TO FIND ANY REDEEMING ASPECTS TO THIS JOBS REPORT. … THE ECONOMY APPEARS TO REMAIN STUCK IN THE MUD.” (James Pethokoukis, “Oh My, JP Morgan Economist Just Absolutely Destroys the August Jobs Report,” The American Enterprise Institute, 9/7/2012)

AP: “BLEAK REPORT” SHOWS ONLY 96,000 JOBS CREATED IN AUGUST: (Julie Pace and Donna Cassata, “Convention Over, Obama Hit With Weak Job Report,” Associated Press, 9/7/2012)

368,000 AMERICANS GAVE UP LOOKING FOR WORK IN THE OBAMA ECONOMY: (Jeff Cox, “New Jobs at 96,000, Missing Expectations; Rate Hits 8.1%,” CNBC, 9/7/2012)

23 MILLION UNEMPLOYED, UNDEREMPLOYED AND DISCOURAGED WORKERS: (“The Employment Situation—August 2012,” Bureau of Labor Statistics, 9/7/2012)

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE GOES DOWN TO 8.1%, “BUT ONLY BECAUSE MORE PEOPLE GAVE UP LOOKING FOR WORK”: (Julie Pace and Donna Cassata, “Convention Over, Obama Hit With Weak Job Report,” Associated Press, 9/7/2012)

UNEMPLOYMENT HAS ONLY BEEN ABOVE 8% FOR 43 STRAIGHT MONTHS UNDER OBAMA, MORE THAN 11 PREVIOUS PRESIDENTS COMBINED: (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 9/7/2012)

BROKEN PROMISE: WHITE HOUSE HAD PREDICTED UNEMPLOYMENT WOULD BE AT ABOUT 5.6% NOW IF WE PASSED THEIR STIMULUS: (James Pethokoukis, “The Awful, Awful August Jobs Report,” The American Enterprise Institute, 9/7/2012)

LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION AT 63.5%, THE LOWEST LEVEL IN MORE THAN 30 YEARS: (Jeff Cox, “New Jobs at 96,000, Missing Expectations; Rate Hits 8.1%,” CNBC, 9/7/2012)

LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION FOR MEN IS AT THE LOWEST LEVEL SINCE BLS BEGAN COLLECTING DATA IN 1948:(Bureau of Labor Statistics, 9/7/2012)

UNEMPLOYMENT TO “REMAIN ELEVATED FOR ANOTHER FIVE TO SIX YEARS”: “Federal Reserve officials agreed at a meeting in June that unemployment would remain elevated for another five to six years, but most did not regard that as a reason for the Fed to expand its efforts to stimulate growth, according to an official account published Wednesday.” (Binyamin Appelbaum, “Fed is Torn on Tipping Point for Action,” The New York Times, 7/11/2012)

It’s a sad reminder that as poverty has risen under Democrat control of Washington, the Democrats’ policies have encouraged government dependency and only made things worse for those most in need:

“US POVERTY RATE 15 PERCENT; RECORD NUMBERS PERSIST”: (Hope Yen, “US Poverty Rate 15 Percent; Record Numbers Persist,” Associated Press, 9/12/2012)

46.2 MILLION PEOPLE BELOW THE POVERTY LINE IN 2011, “THE HIGHEST IN MORE THAN HALF A CENTURY”: (Hope Yen, “US Poverty Rate 15 Percent; Record Numbers Persist,” Associated Press, 9/12/2012)

PEW: “A RECOVERY NO BETTER THAN THE RECCESION”: (Rakesh Kochar, “A Recovery No Better Than the Recession,” Pew Research Center, 9/12/2012)

“US POVERTY ON TRACK TO RISE TO HIGHEST SINCE 1960s”: (Hope Yen, “US Poverty on Track to Rise to Highest Since 1960s,” Associated Press, 7/23/2012)

“US CHILDREN, FAMILIES STRUGGLING AFTER RECESSION”:(Susan Heavey, “US Children, Families Struggling After Recession,” Reuters, 7/25/2012)

46.7 MILLION AMERICANS ON FOOD STAMPS, UP FROM 32 MILLION IN JAN. 2009 WHEN OBAMA TOOK OFFICE: (“Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,” U.S. Department of Agriculture, 8/30/2012)

After Stimulus Failure, Dems Waive Welfare Work Rules http://ow.ly/dGLZH