The bill implemented major changes to U. The law was a cornerstone of the Republican Party 's " Contract with America ", and also fulfilled Clinton's campaign promise to "end welfare as we know it".
AFDC had come under increasing criticism in the s, especially from conservatives who argued that welfare recipients were "trapped in a cycle of poverty ". After the elections , the Republican-controlled Congress passed two major bills designed to reform welfare, but they were vetoed by Clinton. PRWORA granted states greater latitude in administering social welfare programs, and implemented new requirements on welfare recipients, including a five-year lifetime limit on benefits.
After the passage of the law, the number of individuals receiving federal welfare dramatically declined. The law was heralded as a "re-assertion of America's work ethic" by the U. Chamber of Commerce , largely in response to the bill's workfare component. AFDC caseloads increased dramatically from the s to the s as restrictions on the availability of cash support to poor families especially single-parent, female-headed households were reduced.
Court rulings during the Civil Rights Movement struck down many of these regulations, creating new categories of people eligible for relief. Community organizations, such as the National Welfare Rights Organization , also distributed informational packets informing citizens of their ability to receive government assistance. After , however, federal funding for the program lagged behind inflation.
The idea that the welfare-receiving poor had become too dependent upon public assistance also encouraged the act. The idea was that those who were on welfare for many years lost any initiative to find jobs.
