Summary

In recent years, rapid growth in welfare caseloads, concerns about program costs and beneficiaries' long-term dependence, and dissatisfaction with current programs have again focused attention on the nation's welfare system. This testimony focuses on four main points: (1) the range of benefits that welfare and working poor families receive, (2) welfare families' incomes and poverty status, (3) how welfare families' incomes compare with those of working poor families not on welfare, and (4) how work-related supports may help welfare families move from welfare to work. In summary, GAO indicated that the incomes of welfare families who also received benefits such as food stamps and Medicaid were quite similar to the incomes of families with earnings close to the minimum wage. In addition, the incomes of most families in both groups fell below the poverty line.