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Articles by Leslie Ford
A Reform Framework for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
Key Points The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) needs reform to remain an effective safety-net program that decreases food insecurity and supports self-reliance through employment and good health.
Missed Opportunities in the Proposed Farm Bill
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson’s proposed Farm Bill reauthorization, The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024, heads to committee markup today. The Farm Bill is a tough reauthorization normally, and even more difficult in a tightly divided House. While there are provisions that would improve the program, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) needs overarching reform and the proposed bill misses important opportunities.
Evaluating Guaranteed Income Projects
Abstract Local lawmakers are currently piloting their desired next nationwide expansion of the welfare state. Dozens of guaranteed income pilots are running across the country at the local and state level, sometimes funded by COVID-19 relief funds, to encourage federal policymakers to implement cash grants without work requirements, restrictions, or conditions.
Options for Improving the Child Tax Credit Provisions in H.R. 7024, the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024
H.R. 7024, the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024, passed the House on January 31, 2024 and now faces an uncertain fate in the Senate. The bill is intended to offer something for both Republicans and Democrats—business tax cuts and an expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC). But this bargain—which nods (and winks) at concerns about federal deficits—is a bad one in its current form.
Opinion | Cities Use Covid Funds to Run Guaranteed-Income Experiments
Alexandria, Va. Dozens of cities around the country have launched welfare experiments called guaranteed-income pilots to send monthly checks of up to $1,000 to needy people. The goal is to demonstrate that giving the poor direct cash aid can improve their economic stability, their children’s educational attainment, and even their mental health. Most of the pilots are “no strings attached,” meaning that the cash aid doesn’t come with any restrictions on how it can be spent or any work requirement.
Now the Administration Is Legislating on Welfare, Too
Last week the Department of Health and Human Services issued a proposed rule related to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. TANF is the cash welfare block grant Congress created in the 1996 welfare reform law, which was central to that legislation’s efforts to promote more work and less welfare receipt.
Opinion | Don’t Give Away the Farm Bill
Republicans have one more chance to roll back out-of-control welfare spending this year. The farm bill—must-pass legislation that authorizes food stamps and other agriculture programs—will be voted on by December. GOP lawmakers should focus on reining in President Biden’s unprecedented and expensive food-stamp hike.
Don’t Give Away the Farm Bill
Republicans have one more chance to roll back out-of-control welfare spending this year. The farm bill—must-pass legislation that authorizes food stamps and other agriculture programs—will be voted on by December. GOP lawmakers should focus on reining in President Biden’s unprecedented and expensive food-stamp hike. The American Rescue Plan’s temporary 15% increase in food-stamp benefits was set to expire shortly after Mr. Biden took office in 2021.
America's adversaries are moving in next door
What if your next-door neighbor hacked your passwords, stole your data, and spied on you and your family’s every move? You’d confront them or move because turning a blind eye wouldn’t be an option. Why should our military or critical supply chains be any different? After Grand Forks, North Dakota , city officials first announced the Fufeng Group’s purchase of 370 acres of land and plans to build a wet corn milling plant , concerns from the local residents quickly grew.
Parents must fight back against Joe Biden’s designs on ‘all our children’
President Joe Biden just uttered aloud the Left’s nefarious views on children . For decades the Left has been obsessed with the idea, straight out of Brave New World's dystopia , that children belong not primarily to the nuclear family but to the community.
Georgia school district forced to reinstate fired Christian teacher
A Georgia school district has agreed to reinstate a Christian teacher who was fired from her job after requesting that her children be excused from a read-aloud program with books depicting same-sex relationships . Bryan County Schools in Georgia agreed to pay Lindsey Barr a sum of $181,000 and reinstate her as a substitute teacher after the Christian mother filed a lawsuit that accused the school district of violating her right to religious freedom last October.
Why work requirements are less about welfare savings than about human well-being
Most Americans think that work in exchange for government benefits is common sense. For safety-net benefits, work-capable beneficiaries should begin to work, look for work, or participate in education and training at least part time. That’s a reasonable ask and essential to long-term well-being. The Republicans in the House of Representatives get that.
Three Food Stamp Reforms to Improve Outcomes for the Truly Needy-and Save Taxpayers Billions
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the food stamp program became (and has remained) bloated, in part because of a potentially illegal double-digit benefits increase by the Biden administration. Additionally, obvious eligibility loopholes remain unaddressed even as millionaires have enrolled.
Three Food Stamp Reforms to Improve Outcomes for the Needy
1. Revisit the Biden administration’s food stamp benefit increase. In surprising overreach, the Biden administration in October 2021. Through an update to the Thrifty Food Plan, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or USDA, increased food stamp outlays by between $250 billion to $300 billion over 10 years.
3 Food Stamp Reforms to Improve Outcomes for the Truly Needy-and Save Taxpayers Billions
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the food stamp program became (and has remained) bloated, in part because of a potentially illegal double-digit benefits increase by the Biden administration. Additionally, obvious eligibility loopholes remain unaddressed even as millionaires have enrolled.
Biden’s executive actions on food stamps, Obamacare, student loans will balloon deficit, CBO says
[This piece has been published in Restoring America to highlight how the Biden administration's reckless spending is hurting individual consumers and the economy as a whole.] A letter from the Congressional Budget Office in response to an inquiry by a Republican congressman from Missouri confirms that the Biden administration’s executive actions will increase costs to federal taxpayers and fuel rising deficits. The response to Rep.
Congress Blows Opportunity to Help Those Left Behind
Erik Randolph & Leslie Ford RealClearPolicy April 7, 2022 Congressional lawmakers have a real opportunity to help more people find the jobs they want and need. Unfortunately, it looks like they may blow it. This week, the House Education & Labor Committee marked up what turned out to be an entirely partisan Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act of 2022 (WIOA) that proposes spending billions more, all while prioritizing bureaucracy over people-centric solutions.
Federal Job Training Programs Should Follow 'Pay for Outcome' Model
The House Education and Labor Committee on Tuesday will be voting on a reauthorization of the main federal funding for employment and training programs, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. Unfortunately, this Democratic draft would move the workforce system in the wrong direction.
Joe Manchin Should Be Celebrated for Putting Families First
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., has upset fellow Democrats by saying he would vote against the Build Back Better Act, a giant social spending bill. Manchin has made the right call. Among many other things, Democrats’ legislation would extend President Joe Biden’s expanded child tax credit payments.
Work Matters, Despite What Congressional Democrats Think
Why are congressional Democrats breaking welfare again? In March, they transformed the child tax credit into a monthly child allowance—no work conditions attached. If made permanent, as they are now trying to do, it would be the second-largest expansion of the welfare state in U.S. history. The credit used to increase as low-income parents worked more. The allowance, however, goes to nonworking families.
Commentary: We shouldn’t return to welfare as we knew it
Commentary: We shouldn’t return to welfare as we knew it Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., has all eyes on him. Again. This time it’s because he’s questioning his party’s line on whether work matters for people receiving welfare. He recently revealed his reservations with the Biden tax credit, which was transformed into unconditional cash grants: “There’s no work requirements whatsoever. There’s no education requirements whatsoever for better skill sets.
Leslie Ford: We shouldn’t return to welfare as we knew it
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., has all eyes on him. Again. This time it’s because he’s questioning his party’s line on whether work matters for people receiving welfare. He recently revealed his reservations with the Biden tax credit, which was transformed into unconditional cash grants: “There’s no work requirements whatsoever. There’s no education requirements whatsoever for better skill sets.
Leslie Ford: We shouldn’t return to welfare as we knew it
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., has all eyes on him. Again. This time it’s because he’s questioning his party’s line on whether work matters for people receiving welfare. He recently revealed his reservations with the Biden tax credit, which was transformed into unconditional cash grants: “There’s no work requirements whatsoever. There’s no education requirements whatsoever for better skill sets.
Why Work Requirements Are Less About Welfare Savings Than About Human Well-Being
Most Americans think that work in exchange for government benefits is common sense. For safety-net benefits, work-capable beneficiaries should begin to work, look for work, or participate in education and training at least part time. That’s a reasonable ask and essential to long-term well-being. The Republicans in the House of Representatives get that.
Child Allowance Payments Will Not Give Americans True Opportunity
The following is an open letter to policymakers from 18 leaders in family and anti-poverty studies, whose names are listed at the end. Policymakers who are concerned about low-income Americans should reject the Biden administration’s plan to make new unconditional cash payments permanent in the form of a child allowance. Policymakers should not support this ill-advised attempt to expand safety-net benefits without making them conditioned on work or preparation for work.
COMMENTARY: Stimulus bill returns nation to 'welfare as we knew it'
COMMENTARY: Stimulus bill returns nation to 'welfare as we knew it' President Joe Biden signing the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan in the Oval Office on March 11, 2021. Andrew Harnik/AP By Robert Rector and Leslie Ford NEATLY tucked into the $1.9 trillion stimulus package is the second largest welfare expansion in U.S. history.
Commentary: Reversing welfare reform and returning to 'welfare as we knew it'
Neatly tucked into the $1.9 trillion stimulus package is the second largest welfare expansion in U.S. history. President Joe Biden’s plan would increase child allowances — cash welfare grants for parents with children — from an annual $2,000 per child to a maximum payment of $3,600 for each child younger than 6 years of age and $3,000 for children aged 6-17.
Reversing welfare reform and returning to 'welfare as we knew it'
Neatly tucked into the $1.9 trillion stimulus package is the second largest welfare expansion in U.S. history. President Joe Biden's plan would increase child allowances — cash welfare grants for parents with children — from an annual $2,000 per child to a maximum payment of $3,600 for each child younger than 6 years of age and $3,000 for children aged 6-17.
More cash for childless workers: A poor way to help the poor
Embedded in President Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package is a significant and counter-productive expansion of the welfare state. The bill would increase the Earned Income Tax Credit for childless workers, a welfare program that gives cash grants to low-income individuals. This policy would waste taxpayer funds because it’s poorly targeted and harmful to low-income communities. Advocates of the plan contend that the cash grants would be substantially increase work and employment.
Why Work Matters and How the Safety Net Should Encourage It
Like all Americans, low-income individuals desire and deserve opportunities for themselves and their children. For the past 25 years, federal cash-welfare assistance has supported low-income Americans by connecting benefits to work. This strategy, created by Congress on a bipartisan basis, has been extremely effective in increasing employment while simultaneously reducing poverty, long-term government dependence, and social isolation.
This Adoption Month, Learn How to Help Children in Foster Care
National Adoption Month reminds us there are still has too many children who need the permanency of a stable and loving family. The U.S. has more than 424,000 children in foster care. More than 122,000 of these children are adoptable and waiting for their forever family. But it’s not just the numbers of children in care that’s concerning. Too many remain in care for far too long. More than 50% have been in foster care for more than a year.
Welfare Reform Principles Restored Under Trump Administration
This article is an excerpt from the “2020 Mandate for Leadership: A Clear Vision for the Next Administration.” It looks back at policy decisions made by the Trump administration over the past four years. You can purchase your copy of “Mandate 2020” here. For decades, conservative policymakers have worked to reform welfare—so it’s a temporary safety-net, not a way of life. Bad welfare policy should not separate vulnerable, able-bodied Americans from work and opportunity.
House Appropriations ‘Minibus’ Stuffed With Bad Policies, Overspending
The House is expected to vote later this week on H.R. 7608, a “minibus” bill that covers fiscal year 2021 spending for the departments of Agriculture, Interior, State, Veterans Affairs, and more. That covers four of the 12 spending bills that fund the federal government. The bill’s text—produced on July 16—is a staggering 689 pages long, meaning that no representative’s office has had the time to properly vet it before the vote.
COVID-19 and Material Adverse Change: M&A and Financing Considerations
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has already proven to have profound social, political and economic effects on the world, impacting nearly every continent, community and business sector.
How Lawmakers Are Trying to Control San Francisco's Catholic Schools
San Franciscans are currently debating a simple question: Should the government respect the right of Catholic schools to be authentically Catholic? San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone thinks so. But eight California senators and assemblymen sent the archbishop a letter last month, saying that his actions in issuing new faculty guidelines “foment a discriminatory environment in the communities we serve.” On Feb.
Is There a Link between Childhood Homelessness and Single Parenthood?
A new report from The National Center on Family Homelessness concludes that “the challenges of single parenting” is one of the leading causes of homelessness. This conclusion makes sense. Single-parenthood drastically increases the likelihood of poverty and the risks of negative outcomes for children. Tragically, today more than 40 percent of children are born outside of marriage. Five decades ago, it was less than 10 percent.
Fewer Teen Girls Are Having Kids. But Single Parenting Is On the Rise.
Is it possible for the culture to move in a positive direction? In one area, there is good news for U.S. culture: the teen birth rate has dropped 57 percent since 1991, reported the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Wednesday. Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean that single parenthood is going anywhere. Today, the greatest proportion of unwed births are not to high school age young women but to women in their twenties.
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