H.R. 5169: What Works to Move Welfare Recipients into Jobs Act

114th Congress · introduced 2016-05-06 · Social Welfare · Latest: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 478.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2016-05-06 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Buchanan, Vern [R-FL-16] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 478. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

What Works to Move Welfare Recipients into Jobs Act

Plain summary

What Works to Move Welfare Recipients into Jobs Act This bill amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title VI of the Social Security Act to revise requirements for research by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on the benefits, effects, and costs of operating different state programs funded under part A and any other state program funded with qualified state expenditures. (Sec. 2) Such research shall focus on the effect of these programs as well as of healthy marriage promotion and responsible fatherhood grants on employment, self-sufficiency, child well-being, unmarried births, marriage, poverty, economic mobility, and other factors determined by HHS. A state's contribution to the cost of a state-initiated evaluation of its program, from non-federal sources, shall increase from at least 10% to at least 25% of the cost of the proposed evaluation. The Bureau of the Census shall implement or enhance household surveys of program participation to allow for assessment of the outcomes of continued welfare reform on the economic and child well-being of low-income families with children, including those who received assistance or services from a state program funded under TANF or any other state program funded with qualified state expenditures. Research and evaluation designed to determine the effects of a program or policy (other than Census Bureau research) shall use experimental designs using random assignment or other reliable, evidence-based research methodologies that allow for the strongest possible casual inferences when random assignment is not feasible. HHS shall develop a database of the projects that used a proven or a promising approach in moving welfare recipients into work, which shall be called the What Works Clearinghouse of Proven and Promising Projects to Move Welfare Recipients into Work.

Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to House amended, Part I), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

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If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

What Works to Move Welfare Recipients into Jobs Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to House amended, Part I)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Buchanan, Vern [R-FL-16] · 0 cosponsors

Cost estimate: CBO cost estimate: H.R. 5169, What Works to Move Welfare Recipients into Jobs Act (2016-06-02)

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Buchanan, Vern [R-FL-16] reported raising $932,898 (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)

Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to House amended, Part I)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-114hr5169.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/114/hr>

Record fed-us-cong114-hr5169 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114