Grothman Announces Hearing on Reforming the Welfare State

WASHINGTON—Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services Chairman Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) will hold a hearing titled “Examining the Growth of the Welfare State, Part 1” to scrutinize the enormous expansion of welfare programs over the last 60 years and evaluate strategies to reform deficiencies in the welfare system. Annually, the federal government spends nearly $1.2 trillion on more than 80 welfare programs. This system breeds dependency on federal assistance, penalizes married couples, and incentivizes recipients to remain in the welfare state rather than seek out better opportunities for themselves and their families. Concerningly, these deficient welfare programs are often targeted by scammers who abuse improper payments, in programs such as Medicaid and food stamps, to waste billions of taxpayer dollars every year. The Subcommittee will examine how to cut down on this waste, fraud, and abuse to prevent government dependency and empower Americans.

“Welfare programs were originally designed in the 1960s to help Americans escape poverty, not to foster long-term dependence on government assistance. Instead of functioning as a temporary safety net, these programs have discouraged financial independence and rewarded those who stay below a certain income level for far too long. It is time to evaluate serious reforms to fix our broken welfare system. Marriage penalties disincentivize couples, and often, illegal immigrants even receive welfare benefits. Our current system is bad for taxpayers, bad for welfare recipients, and bad for the growth of America. We look forward to hearing from our expert witnesses next week on tactics to prevent this waste, fraud, and abuse in the welfare system,” said Subcommittee Chairman Grothman.

WHAT: Hearing titled “Examining the Growth of the Welfare State, Part 1”

DATE: Tuesday, February 11, 2025

TIME: 1:30 p.m. ET

LOCATION: 2247 Rayburn House Office Building

WITNESSES:

• Robert Rector, Senior Research Fellow, Center for Health and Welfare, The Heritage Foundation
• Patrice Onwuka, Director, Center for Economic Opportunity, Independent Women’s Forum

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