Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996

Current law generally requires a valid Social Security number for the Earned Income Tax Credit, while eligibility for the other one, the Additional Child Tax, Tax Credit, varies based upon statutory requirements.

The Trump administration's proposal would further limit eligibility by applying standards under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act.

These names kill me.

That's to certain refundable tax credits.

However, Clinton did actually shrink parts of the government with policies like the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which deregulated broadcasting.

But Clinton's signature economic policy was welfare reform, AKA the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996.

This law replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program, which had given money directly to poor mothers.

But with Clinton's welfare reform, states received block grants that came with strings attached, including work requirements and time limits for total benefits.

i do like god bless whoever changed ceos to business leaders

business leaders that's right now the piece ended with a quote from one of these concerned quote-unquote real americans who grumbled quote something needs to be done some more programs to try and get people off welfare end quote The piece didn't bother to counter this by citing the potential benefits of social programs, nor did it explain that welfare programs had already been under severe assault by the Clinton administration in its first term, which just months later would pass the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, thus further burdening people in need of government assistance.

Nor did this article note that as of 1992, only 5.5% of the US population was on welfare, a number that had decreased by 1996, thanks in large part to Clinton's law.

But nevertheless, what the article does is it launders the anti-welfare posture of, say, I don't know, the Toledo, Ohio business leaders with the

We initially spoke about it at the time that they proposed it.

But if finalized and appears that it will be finalized, it would classify the refunded portions of four tax credits as federal public benefits under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996.

Now, under that law, illegal immigrants are generally prohibited from receiving federal public benefits.

So the proposed rule would apply to the child tax credit, the earned income tax credit, the American Opportunity Tax Credit, and the adoption tax credit.

[upbeat music]

So Lily, on August 22nd, 1996, Bill Clinton signed the welfare reform bill, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, if that isn't a mouthful, which, uh, many see as the high watermark of his betrayal of older liberal and progressive values.

But we should also point out that on August 22nd, 1996, Lee Vinsel turned 17 years old, um, and celebrated-

[laughs]