Empowering people to achieve independence and productivity is our mission on the Ways and Means Human Resources Subcommittee, of which I serve as chairman.
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Empowering people to achieve independence and productivity is our mission on the Ways and Means Human Resources Subcommittee, of which I serve as chairman. President Trump is urging Congress to focus on welfare reform after we finish our tax code overhaul, and I am eager to dive into this effort to help more Americans reach self-sufficiency.
In the fight against poverty, four main principles in House Republicans’ “A Better Way” plan serve as guideposts for the task ahead.
First, we must promote human dignity by expecting able-bodied recipients to work or prepare for work in exchange for benefits. Too many programs are focused on meeting immediate needs without providing recipients with the tools they need to succeed in the workforce. States should also be held accountable for helping recipients find jobs and stay employed.
Our second principle is getting incentives right so everyone benefits when someone moves into the workforce permanently. Recipients are too often incentivized to stay on welfare long-term rather than being rewarded for finding stable employment, and some providers also benefit as the number of recipients on their rolls grows. We need to change these incentives to unite around the end goal of helping more people enter and stay in the workforce.