GOP leaders seek vote to block welfare waivers
WASHINGTON—Senior Republicans are pushing for votes in Congress to block the Obama administration from waiving some provisions of the nation's landmark welfare-to-work law.
House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp of Michigan and Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said Tuesday they plan to use a special procedure to force a simple majority vote in the Senate, where most legislation requires 60 votes.
A law called the Congressional Review Act allows lawmakers to overrule administration regulations with a simple majority. The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office says the waiver plan is a regulation subject to the law, but the administration disputes that.
The administration says it will not waive work requirements, only bureaucratic barriers keeping states from putting more welfare recipients to work.
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