Ryan budget blocks Obama welfare waivers

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) latest fiscal proposal would prevent the Obama administration from giving states waivers under welfare reform.

The budget, unveiled Tuesday, includes a provision to hamper federal officials from granting additional flexibility under the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program.

The opportunity for waivers was announced last summer, touching off a political firestorm as Republicans accused President Obama of "gutting" welfare's work requirement.

The administration says the waivers will be rescinded unless states prove they are moving more people from welfare to work as a result.

Republicans say the policy is an attempt to weaken welfare's requirement that some recipients hold jobs.

"This budget rescinds any authority the administration thinks it has to provide for waivers of the work requirement of the TANF program," Ryan wrote in Tuesday's fiscal blueprint.
 
According to recent congressional testimony, no waivers have yet been issued and no states have applied.

The House Ways and Means Committee recently approved its own measure to block the waivers, echoing a similar move from last year.

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