1996 Welfare Reform Bill

The 1994 Congressional elections would be dubbed the "Republican Revolution," as Newt Gingrich engineered a majority-taking election effort. Republicans united by the "Contract with America" made welfare reform a top priority.

Core to these Republicans' philosophy was a belief in "devolution" – the ceding of federal power to state or local government. Local government should be more empowered and more responsive than a federal bureaucracy could ever be.
History had expanded the federal role in social welfare through the Civil War, Progressive Era, and greatly so during the Depression.

This new approach called back upon the principles of local control codified in the Poor Laws of 1601, the original model for American social policy. As Gingrich praised the idea of orphanages, he approached the reformist zeal of early American "indoor" relief advocates.

Negotiating with a Republican Congress, President Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act in 1996.

Wisconsin had for many years been experimenting with programs to emphasize work over welfare. The bill's passage paved the way for even more bold experimentation, and for states to follow Wisconsin's lead.