Grothman Announces Second Hearing on Reforming the Welfare State

WASHINGTON—Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services Chair Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) today announced the panel will hold its second hearing to examine solutions to reform the massive welfare state. The federal welfare system fails to improve Americans’ lives and instead creates disincentives to work, dissuades Americans from getting married, and continues the cycle of dependency. During the COVID-19 pandemic, federal government welfare spending reached $1.19 trillion for over 80 programs, and the number of Americans who have been on welfare for extended periods is now double what it was in the late 1990s. The Subcommittee hearing, titled “Examining the Growth of the Welfare State, Part II,” will highlight the inefficiency of welfare programs and evaluate strategies to reform this broken system, including rental assistance programs like Section 8, Public Housing, and the Low-Income Tax Credit. 

“The welfare system has been failing the American people for decades, causing more Americans to remain in poverty than climb out of it. These programs have been plagued by enormous waste, fraud, and abuse, and are in serious need of reform. America cannot grow without first fixing the flaws in our welfare system that waste trillions in taxpayer dollars, hinder financial independence, and discourage marriage. This hearing will continue the Subcommittee’s examination of these programs and evaluate necessary changes to prevent abuse,” said Chairman Grothman.       

WHAT: Hearing on “Examining the Growth of the Welfare State, Part II” 

DATE: May 7, 2025 

TIME: 10:00 a.m. ET 

LOCATION: 2247 Rayburn House Office Building 

WITNESSES: 

• The Honorable Ben Carson, M.D., Former Secretary, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 

• Mr. Chris Edwards, Kilts Family Chair in Fiscal Studies, The Cato Institute 

• Mr. Howard Husock, Senior Fellow, Domestic Policy Studies, The American Enterprise Institute