“When the federal government declared an ‘unconditional war on poverty’ in 1964, about 14.5 percent of Americans were considered poor. Today, 53 years and $22 trillion dollars later, there are more Americans listed as living in poverty than there were then. Clearly, what the federal government has been doing isn’t working. Instead of lifting people up, our welfare programs actually hold them down. It’s beyond time to reform these systems and give struggling Americans a chance to succeed.”
Background
Accelerating Individuals into the Workforce Act, H.R. 2842, empowers states to develop programs that place low-income individuals into the workforce. This will help struggling Americans gain on-the-job skills to ensure that they get a hand-up from TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families).