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CONSERVATIVE LEADERS URGE CONGRESS TO STRENGTHEN WORK REQUIREMENTS FOR WELFARE BENEFICIARIES
August 22, 2018
Washington, DC
Republicans, including President Trump, have long called for strong welfare reform, including work requirements. As the House and Senate work through the conference negotiations on the 2018 Farm Bill, we urge conferees to maintain a policy of conditioning benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), otherwise known as food stamps, to limited work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs).
According to the Heritage Foundation, the ABAWD caseload for SNAP benefits has more than doubled over the past decade, rising from 1.9 million in 2008 to 4.2 million today. Spending on the program has also doubled in the last decade to approximately $73 billion annually.
Though limited work requirements exist in current law, the amount of state waivers in place has rendered them effectively meaningless. Given this, as well as the fiscal and policy benefits associated with work requirements for ABAWDs, we urge conferees to give this policy due consideration.
Previous work requirement initiatives, specifically those added to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, have been successful at expediting the return of assistance recipients to the workforce, and removing incentives that discourage individuals from seeking full-time employment. According to the National Taxpayers Union, these reforms have been associated with higher incomes, declining child poverty, and an increased number of single women in the workforce.
Moreover, in places where these policies have been tried, they have succeeded. In July 2014, Maine announced it would no longer grant waivers from work requirements for ABAWDs. In a few months, Maine’s ABAWD caseload dropped 80 percent, with many individuals choosing to be removed from the SNAP rolls rather than participate in work programs.
According to analysis by the Heritage Foundation, policies similar to Maine’s could save taxpayers nearly $10 billion per year. Not only is this sound fiscal policy, it encourages individuals to take ownership of their own futures – the first step toward a successful welfare-to-work outcome. Americans understand this. In 2012, a Rasmussen poll found that 83 percent of American adults supported work requirements in exchange for welfare benefits.
Congress has a chance to make significant reforms to our welfare system that have a positive fiscal impact, while helping individuals make meaningful progress toward independence. We urge the Farm Bill conferees to include sound policy of work requirements for SNAP benefits.
The Honorable Edwin Meese III
Former Attorney General
President Ronald Reagan
The Honorable J. Kenneth Blackwell
Chairman
Constitutional Congress, Inc.
Rod D. Martin
Founder & CEO
The Martin Organization, Inc.
Haley E. Martin
President
The Martin Foundation
Adam Brandon
President
Freedom Works
C. Preston Noell III
President
Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.
Ed Corrigan
Vice Chairman,
Conservative Action Project &
Former Executive Director
Senate Steering Committee
The Honorable Jim DeMint
U.S. Senate
Former Member, South Carolina
William L. Walton
Chairman
CNP Action, Inc.
Rebecca Hagelin
Secretary
Council for National Policy
Lee A. Beaman
CEO
Beaman Automotive
Floyd Brown
Chairman
Western Center for Journalism
James L. Martin
Founder & Chairman
60 Plus Association
The Honorable Ken Cuccinelli
President
Senate Conservatives Fund
William W. Pascoe, III
Board Member
Tea Party Patriots Action
The Honorable Tom DeLay
Former Majority Leader
U.S. House of Representatives
The Honorable Bob McEwen
U.S. House of Representatives
Former Member, Ohio
Willes K. Lee
President
National Federation of Republican Assemblies
Jason S. Jones
President
HERO, Inc.
L. Brent Bozell, III
Founder and President
Media Research Center
Tom Giovanetti
President
Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI)
Allen Hebert
Chairman
American – Chinese
Fellowship of Houston
Anne Schlafly Cori
Chairman
Eagle Forum
Lewis K. Uhler
President
National Tax
Limitation Committee
Dr. Richard Rounsavelle
Trustee
Media Research Center
Dr. Mitch Pearlstein
Founder & Senior Fellow
Center of the American Experiment
Rachel Bovard
Former Policy Director
Senate Steering Committee
Wesley Denton
Former
Communications Director
Senator Jim DeMint (SC)
Tim Chapman
President
Heritage Action for America
Joe R. Calvert
President
Rabon & Calvert Interests, Inc.
Roxanne Phillips
Member Executive Committee
Council for National Policy
Richard D. Hayes
Partner
Hayes, Berry, White & Vanzant KLP
Tim LeFever
Chairman
Capital Research Center
Jenny Beth Martin
Chairman
Tea Party Patriots Citizen Fund
The Honorable Tim Huelskamp, Ph.D.
President
The Heartland Institute
Dr. Jerome R. Corsi, Ph.D.
Founder and CEO
CorsiNation.com
JRC Publishing LLC
Seton Motley
President
Less Government
William Shaker
Executive
Washington
Marketing Group
E.C. Sykes
Managing Director
Aslan Ventures
Susan A. Carleson
Chairman & CEO
American Civil Rights Union
David N. Bossie
President
Citizens United
Melvin Adams
Past President
Renewanation
Steve Berger
Pastor
Grace Chapel
Robert Alt
President & CEO
The Buckeye Institute
Marcia G. Taylor
CEO
Bennett Int. Group, LLC
Kim Bengard
Business Owner
It Takes A Family Foundation
Nancy Schulze
Founder, Republican Congressional
Wives Speakers
The Honorable James C. Miller III
Former Budget Director
Reagan Alumni
The Honorable Colin A. Hanna
President
Let Freedom Ring, Inc.
Sherri R. Martin
Executive Vice President
The Martin Organization, Inc.
Shawn A. Mitchell
National Chaplain
National Federation of Republican Assemblies
Evelio Silvera
Campaign for the
American Future
The Honorable Tim Echols
Commissioner
Georgia Public Service Commission
Alfred S. Regnery
Chairman,
Conservative Action Project
Chairman,
Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund
The Honorable Tony Perkins
President, Family Research Council
President, Council for National Policy
The Honorable T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr.
Former Chief Domestic Advisor
President Ronald Reagan
The Honorable Morton Blackwell
Chairman
The Weyrich Lunch
The Honorable David McIntosh
President
Club for Growth
Robert D. Thompson
Former Administrator
The Weyrich Lunch
The Honorable Belden Bell
Co-Chair Heritage Legacy Society
The Heritage Foundation
Saulius “Saul” Anuzis
President
60 Plus Association
Bob Adams
President
Revive America PAC
Charlie Copeland
President
Intercollegiate Studies Institute
Peter J. Thomas
Chairman
The Conservative Caucus
Caroline C. Lewis
Owner
Percipio Communications
The Honorable Mike Hill
Former Member
Florida State House
The Honorable Gary L. Bauer
President
American Values
Chad Connelly
President
Faith Wins
Christopher Malagisi
Editor in Chief
Conservative
Book Club
Sean Noble
President
American Encore
Dan Weber
President
Association of Mature
American Citizens (AMAC)
Martha Boneta
President
VCS
Charlie Gerow
CEO
Quantum Communications
Robert K. Fischer
Meeting Coordinator
Conservatives of Faith
Michelle Easton
President,
Clare Boothe Luce Center for
Conservative Women
The Honorable Mike Spence
Founding President
Conservative Republicans of California
Jerry Melvin
Former Dean
Florida House of Representatives
Col. Francis X De Luca USMC (Ret)
President Emeritus
Civitas Institute
Russell Ramsland, Jr.
Founder, Park Cities/
Preston Hollow Leadership Forum
James Clymer
Former National Chairman
Constitution Party National Committee
David Bozell
President
For America
Phil Kerpen
President
American Commitment
The Honorable Charles J. Cooper
Former Assistant Attorney General
President Ronald Reagan
Cooper & Kirk, PLLC
Cleta Mitchell, Esq.
Partner
Foley & Lardner LLP
Gregory Quinlan
Founder
The Center for
Garden State Families
James R. Waters
CEO, Bluegrass Institute for
Public Policy Solutions
Darrel W. Johnson
Owner
Attic Corporation
Sal Russo
Co-Founder and Chief Strategist
Tea Party Express
Peggy Dau
Activist for Persecuted Christians
Iran Alive
Kayla Moore
President
Foundation for Moral Law
The Honorable Penny Pullen
Former Representative
Illinois General Assembly
Mrs. Lisa Calvert
Christian Speaker
Rabon-Calvert Interests
Suzanne Hudgens
Homemaker
Tea Party Activist
(All organizations listed for IDENTIFICATION purposes only)
Rod is one of our nation’s leading minds. He’s smart, original, and very committed—a combination that one rarely finds.
Rod Martin and [former Howard Dean campaign manager] Joe Trippi are America’s two foremost experts on online politics.
Rod Martin is a Reaganite-Thatcherite conservative…[and] a man who has spent much of his life ministering to and working for the benefit of others. I know Rod as an advocate for freedom, a leader who understands the real changes we need in Washington, and who has the drive and ability to make those changes happen.
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Rod Martin wears with uncommon grace an uncanny ability to link his vigorous faith to the practical challenges of both the business world and the political arena. Yet the respect he shows for others carries a warmth and modesty that are both too rare among those who are strong advocates of feisty positions.
America badly needs more leaders who really get the future. We need more Rod Martins.
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Rod is one of the sharpest, most gracious men I know, and one of the most gifted political thinkers today. His ability to analyze issues and communicate thoughtful insights on them have earned him the respect of people across the political spectrum.
I am proud to have been Rod Martin’s friend for a quarter century, and I can tell you that he is one of the finest men and most outstanding leaders in our church and in our country today. He has a knack for turning everything he touches to success.
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If Rod Martin represents the next generation of leaders, America has nothing to worry about.
A leader and a servant, in public life and in private, Rod Martin strides at the top of his profession, and has nowhere to go but up. He is in the truest sense of the word ‘outstanding’.
Rod Martin is undoubtedly one of the most accomplished thought leaders today. He is a wonderful mentor, a humble role model, and a deep inspiration for the next generation of scientific innovators and entrepreneurs.
Rod’s achievements pale beside his character and his brilliance. He sees what others can’t. He leads when others won’t.
Rod Martin is one of America’s finest young minds.
