Rep. Tom Reed (R-Corning)
WASHINGTON – Congressman Tom Reed (R-Corning, NY 23) testified before the House Budget Committee Tuesday regarding welfare reform in the House Budget Resolution for Fiscal Year 2015. Reed used the opportunity to lay out priorities to move the country forward and stand with the working poor.
Reed says the current welfare system is failing the 46 million Americans living in poverty, limiting their opportunities to get ahead and encouraging an endless cycle of dependence. He pointed to the fact that the number of Americans living at or below the poverty line is higher than ever and introduced legislation earlier this month to better care for those in need.
Reed’s HAND UP Act allows states to test new ways to engage families and individuals on welfare and give them the tools to succeed and work.
Reed’s testimony also focused on the need to “require work, reward work.” Reed says that rewarding individuals in poverty who are working and trying to get ahead was a driving force behind the bipartisan welfare reform of the 1990s and the White Houses’ efforts to waive work requirements for welfare recipients undermines their progress.
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