The Georgia House Study Committee on Welfare Fraud, chaired by Rep. David Clark (R-Buford), released its final report today highlighting the committee’s findings and its concerns about welfare waste, fraud, and abuse, as well as the need for reform.
Recommendations from the study committee’s report include reducing TANF time limits, increasing the strictness of sanctions on non-compliant recipients, sharing disenrollment information among welfare agencies, implementing work requirements for all able-bodied childless adults in Georgia, and other important reform ideas.
In The Heartland Institute’s 2015 Welfare Reform Report Card, Georgia earned an “F” grade for its dismal welfare policies, finishing 44th among all states.
The following statements from welfare policy experts at The Heartland Institute – a free-market think tank – may be used for attribution. For more comments, refer to the contact information below. To book a Heartland guest on your program, please contact Director of Communications Jim Lakely at [email protected] and 312/377-4000.
“While Georgia has had some success reducing its number of TANF recipients since 1996, its overall poverty rate has continued to increase. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) data and information from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Georgia had a 24.2 percent increase in poverty rate from 1996 to 2013. In order to move more people out of poverty, Georgia needs to reform its TANF policies to require work requirements for able-bodied adult recipients, decrease the time recipients can remain in the program, and increase the strictness of sanctions for noncompliant recipients.
“It’s encouraging to see Rep. Clark and others on the study committee realize how important it is to adopt incentives and policies to help move tens of thousands of people from government dependency to self-sufficiency and improve the stewardship of taxpayer dollars.”
Logan Pike
Government Relations Manager
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
312/377-4000
“The Georgia House Study Committee on Welfare Fraud, led by Chairman David Clark, has provided significant recommendations needed in Georgia to reform the state’s failing welfare programs. If enacted, the committee’s proposed reforms would greatly reduce fraud and waste and would break a disturbing cycle of dependency that has developed in the state over several decades.
“By enacting time limits, more stringent verification standards, and work requirements, Georgia will significantly improve its social welfare programs, ultimately improving the quality of life for hundreds of thousands of Georgians, and saving the hardworking taxpayers of the state millions of dollars.”
Justin Haskins
Editor
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
312/377-4000
“Chairman Clark and the committee should be commended for their leadership in helping to bring attention to how Georgia’s current welfare policies are failing the Georgians who need help the most.
“The goal of any welfare reform should be to help move people from government dependency to self-sufficiency – while also protecting taxpayers from waste, fraud, and abuse. The findings and recommendations of the committee address these issues. I hope the Georgia Assembly will move forward on implementing the committee’s recommendations.”
John Nothdurft
Director of Government Relations
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
312/377-4000
The Heartland Institute is a 32-year-old national nonprofit organization headquartered in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Its mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems. For more information, visit our Web site or call 312/377-4000.
Justin Haskins is the director of the Socialism Research Center and editorial director at The Heartland Institute.
John Nothdurft joined the staff of The Heartland Institute in May 2008 and left in January of 2019.
