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Oversight hearing examines emotional welfare reform issue
The House Oversight Committee government spending subcommittee took on the emotional issue of welfare spending Wednesday and featured sharply contrasting approaches from two Ohio representatives, Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and ranking member Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio).
While the two men were collegial and indicated that they want to work in a bipartisan way to eliminate administrative costs to welfare, job training and food assistance programs, they differed shrarply on whether benefits need to be cut by altering eligibility.
Jordan has introduced H.R. 1167, the Welfare Reform Act of 2011 and it would require able-bodied adult food stamp beneficiaries to work or prepare for a job. It would also put a soft cap on spending. Once unemployment falls to 6.5 percent or lower, overall federal spending on means-tested welfare would return to its 2007-level (adjusted for inflation) and be allowed to grow with inflation.
Jordan blasted the Obama administration for refusing to cooperate with the hearing.
“The Office of Management and Budget refuses to come and talk to this committee about the management of these social welfare assistance programs,” he said.
“The GAO found that only 7 of the 18 federal food assistance programs have been associated with positive health and nutrition outcomes,” he said.
Kucinich at the hearing said he could not believe anyone would be talking about restricting access to food during a time of economic hardship.
Kucinich said that the GAO report should not be seen as supporting cutting benefits.
“GAO did not find waste, fraud and abuse in the delivery of these programs,” Kucinch said. “It does recommend delivering fewer benefits to those in need.”
A large part of the hearing focused on arguments by Robert Rector of The Heritage Foundation who said assistance programs encourage single parenthood and joblessness and need to have their incentives changed.
Rector said that benefits could be reduced for single parents to encourage marriage.
Rector’s comments were rebuffed by Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks executive director Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, who argued food stamps recipients are not gaming the system and are in greater need of help due to a proliferation of lower-paying jobs.
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) said he was shocked by Rector’s comments.
“I have never seen so many people waiting in line for food,” Kucinich said of a recent visit to Ohio. “We have to be very careful about engaging in sophistry. Some of this testimony is tough to take.”
Jordan asked Kucinich if he agreed the government should at least be able to know how much it is spending on assistance and whether it is working. Kucinch replied that those issues can be examined as long as people are still being fed.
House Republicans are eager to extend the welfare reforms of the 1990s and such reforms are called for the House 2012 budget resolution.
So far welfare reform has not been pushed for in connection with the debt ceiling debate.
One conservative activist said that no one is talking about linking it for now.
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