SHORT HISTORY OF THE 1996 WELFARE REFORM LAW (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Feb. 7, 2001 |
| Report Number |
RS20807 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Joe Richardson and Vee Burke, Domestic Social Policy Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
The 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA, P.L.
104-193 ) changed the face of federal-state family welfare programs and most other federally
supported aid for the poor. Some 3 years' debate followed President Clinton's call "to end welfare
as we know it." Early (1993-1994) proposals retained the existing Aid to Families with Dependent
Children (AFDC) program, but placed time limits on welfare receipt not conditioned on work. In
1995, the debate shifted when the House approved H.R. 4 (the Personal Responsibility
Act) and created Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grants to replace AFDC.
This measure time-limited welfare receipt, added to work requirements, and expanded welfare
reform to include myriad changes in other programs like food stamps. The Senate adopted the House
structure with notable changes affecting the grants' funding structure and other matters (the Work
Opportunity Act). But a House-Senate compromise on H.R. 4 was twice vetoed at the
end of 1995. In 1996, the vetoed H.R. 4 was again picked up and, with significant
changes, adopted by Congress as part of an FY1997 budget reconciliation law and signed by the
President on August 22, 1996.
