Welfare Reform
After campaigning on a promise to “end welfare as we know it,” President Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (often referred to as welfare reform) in 1996. Building on the racist and sexist tropes about struggling Americans cemented in the culture wars of the 1980’s, Representative Newt Gingrich and Congressional Republicans wrote the legislation purportedly to break the “cycle of poverty.” Welfare reform introduced work requirements and time limits on assistance programs like food stamps, as well as a lifetime cap on benefits. Thousands of once-eligible families immediately lost access to benefits, and thousands more were discouraged from applying.
Where is it located in the Museum?
Museum Map
LOBBY
THE
WISHING
TREE
WISHING
TREE
THE SNAP CAFÉ
AUDITORIUM
TERRACE RESTAURANT
The Hunger Museum
We Can Solve Hunger —
The Proof is in Our History
The Proof is in Our History
- 1.Welcome
- 2.The Age of Mass Migration - Landing
- 3.The Age of Mass Migration - Main
- 4.Jewish Immigration from Eastern Europe
- 5.Immigration from Europe
- 6.On the Breadline
- 7.Beginnings
- 8.What was the rationale behind the Food Stamp Program?
- 9.Farm Family Portraits
- 10.An Unequal Recovery
- 11.Lunch Counter Student Sit-Ins (Greensboro, NC)
- 12.Televising the War on Hunger - Landing
- 13.Televising the War on Hunger - Main
- 14.CBS’s “Hunger in America”
- 15.President Lyndon B. Johnson
- 16.Senator George McGovern and Senator Robert Dole
- 17.Dr. Jean Mayer and the White House Conference
- 18.Poor People’s Campaign (Springfield, IL)
- 19.Hunger & Charity in the Age of Austerity - Landing
- 20.Hunger & Charity in the Age of Austerity - Main
- 21.Government Cheese
- 22.The Return of the Welfare Queen
- 23.Welfare Reform
- 24.Crises of New Proportions - Landing
- 25.Crises of New Proportions - Main
- 26.COVID-19
- 27.Stories of a Broken Safety Net - Landing
- 28.Stories of a Broken Safety Net - Main
- 29.Wishing Tree
MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger