Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) to Speak on Welfare Reform

Rachel Sheffield / January 19, 2011

The 112th Congress is out of the gate, and so is its mantra of getting government spending under control. But there’s one piece of the spending pie that legislators can’t overlook if they plan to get the United States back on the track of fiscal responsibility: welfare.

Despite the commonly held belief that the government “ended welfare as we know it” back in the 1990s, this year alone, federal and state governments will spend nearly $900 billion on means-tested programs for low-income people. (And no, this does not include unemployment spending.) The welfare reforms of the Clinton years accounted for just a small piece of total welfare spending in the first place, and while those reforms should not be downplayed for their significance and success, unfortunately even they have been all but eliminated over the years. (more…)