Nancy L. Johnson: “I would indicate to the gentleman that the bill that passed the House has a very broad waiver of authority in it. There…”

“I would indicate to the gentleman that the bill that passed the House has a very broad waiver of authority in it. There are some that think it is too broad and would like narrower waiver authority. We will see what the Senate has done, and then we will see if the conference committee can come to a conclusion about the structure of the waiver authority in the future. But there was a waiver authority in the last welfare bill. I think there is universal agreement that States need flexibility to structure their programs to meet the specific needs and circumstances of their own people, and so this will be a significant issue that will be addressed. I cannot tell the gentleman at this point whether there will be precisely the narrow State waiver authority there is under current law, but I would also remind the gentleman that that waiver authority under current law has a defect. The waivers expire and are not reauthorizable. Under current law, they have to reapply for them. So under current law there is a problem about how do we move the successful waivered program into the mainstream, and I think that is an issue that the conference needs to resolve as well because my State also has a waiver that has expired as well as the same kind of unemployment rate, unfortunately, that Oregon has.”