"Our first hearing this year is on challenges facing low-income individuals and families in today’s economy. 

"Our basic purpose as a subcommittee—a purpose stated in the subcommittee’s very title—is to promote the human resources of this country. Those human resources are really today’s workers and their children, who are the workforce of tomorrow. Stretching back to the 1930s and accelerating in the 1960s, the Federal government has operated an ever-growing arsenal of programs that provide benefits designed in some way to help low-income families with children, as well as unemployed workers, move forward.

"The bad news—and on this I think there is bipartisan agreement—is those programs are not working as effectively as we would like, especially given the realities of today’s economy.

"Even though the pace has picked up lately, the current jobs recovery has been the slowest in recorded U.S. history. That has left too many people unemployed and stuck in poverty year after year. Incomes fell dramatically during the recession, and really haven’t bounced back. Millions collected almost two years of unemployment benefits, without finding a new job. Many simply left the workforce. Others transitioned onto long-term disability benefits, or food stamps, or both. The sad result has been a majority of Americans now believe the American Dream of hard work and getting ahead is impossible to achieve. And younger workers—the backbone of our workforce for the next 40 years—are the most pessimistic about their chances.

"We also know American families are experiencing major stress. This stress is not just economic stress, but stress on family life as well. Declining marriage rates, rising shares of children born to single parents, and the increasing number of children spending years raised in single-parent homes adds to that stress and to the hurdles that must be overcome by programs designed to help them. 

"Twenty years ago, this subcommittee faced a similar set of challenges in crafting what became the landmark 1996 welfare reform law. In fact, by this point in February 1995, this subcommittee had already held an amazing eight hearings—in less than one month! 

"The then-subcommittee Chairman, the late Clay Shaw of Florida, sat in this chair and said Members of this committee were on a rescue mission to save poor families. In many respects, it worked. After 1996, the number of low-income parents collecting welfare checks fell dramatically as millions left welfare for work. Poverty fell to record lows for key groups as work and earnings rose. 

"But over time, the rolls of other low-income benefit programs—especially those not subject to the 1996 reforms—expanded even faster, even when the economy was growing. And while the number of people participating in these benefit programs increased, poverty rates remained unchanged or even increased. Clearly, the economy and this broader array of anti-poverty programs haven’t been working as well as we would like to help all families move up the income ladder.

"That’s why this year we will engage in the first top to bottom review since 1996 of how federal policies can better support work, strengthen families, and move America forward. We will review our programs, as well as their interaction with other key programs like food stamps, housing, and health care, so that we get a complete picture. Subsequent hearings will explore how we could better engage low-income adults in work and training, what we should do to better coordinate benefits that families count on, what lessons we may learn from other countries, and how we should use evidence to ensure we are making a real difference in people’s lives. 

"Our goal, consistent with the challenge set forth by Chairman Ryan last year, is not simply to cut programs or reduce spending. Instead, it is to reform programs so they create real ladders of opportunity that families can climb to escape poverty and achieve the American Dream. That is a big, but essential, goal for us to achieve if we want our families and ultimately our country to move forward.   

"I am excited to work with everyone here, including our witnesses today, as we get started."