s Obama “dropping work requirements,” as Romney’s ad claims? No. He is allowing states to change the work requirements, but he is not dropping them. The changes could be made to a variety of federal requirements, including “definitions of work activities and engagement, specified limitations, verification procedures, and the calculation of participation rates.”
A lot will depend on what a state proposes and how it is implemented. There is nothing inherent in the waivers that guts work requirements.
In explaining the new policy, George Sheldon, the acting assistant secretary for the Administration for Children and Families, wrote: “Waivers that weaken or undercut welfare reform will not be approved.” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius wrote a July 18 letter to Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah saying the department’s “goal is to accelerate job placement,” requiring states to commit to a plan that will “move at least 20% more people from welfare to work compared to the state’s past performance.”
It’s understandable that some Republicans simply may not trust Sebelius and Sheldon. There is a lot of mistrust between the Democrats and Republicans on the issue of welfare — and the way the administration implemented the new policy has not helped.