"The real inside story of the historic 1996 welfare reform by the one man who could write it. Not only is Ron Haskins the rare political operative who's also a serious scholar; he also knows how to tell a good story, complete with laughs, suspense, empathy, novelistic details, memorable characters, and a distinct point of view. Welfare reform was a rare and wondrous event, and so is this book." --Mickey Kaus, author of The End of Equality "WORK OVER WELFARE is THE inside account of the making of welfare reform. Ron Haskins tells the story marvelously. Reform reflected years of earlier Republican policy development and difficult statecraft within Congress. Even the critics of big government had to use it to transform welfare, and they did." --Lawrence M. Mead, Professor of Politics, New York University "An excellent first-hand account of the landmark 1996 welfare reform law, written by a man whose steadfast determination and willingness to work across party lines helped make that law possible." --Bruce Reed, president, Democratic Leadership Council "WORK OVER WELFARE is insightful, revealing, and fascinating throughout. If you're interested in either welfare policy or how the Republican Congress develops major legislation, you'll want to read this book, whether you concur with Haskins's policy views or not." --Bob Greenstein, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Ron Haskins is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a senior consultant at the Annie E. Casey Foundation. A former adviser to the President for welfare policy, he spent 14 years on the staff of the House Ways and Means Human Resources Subcommittee, first as welfare counsel to the Republican staff, then as the subcommittee's staff director. He is the author of Work over Welfare: The Inside Story of the 1996 Welfare Reform Law (Brookings, 2006) and coeditor, with Rebecca Blank, of The New World of Welfare (Brookings, 2002).
"In providing a lively account of the personalities, policies, and
politics that shaped the landmakr welfare-reform legislation, Ron
Haskins has produced an engaging primer on the complicated and
arcane legislative process. In Work over Welfare, the account of
how a bill becomes a law receives a remarkably entertaining
treatment, and the book should find an appreciative audience well
beyond his fellow academics." —Kate O'Beirne, National Review,
12/27/2006|"Ron Haskins, the House GOP staffer in charge of
drafting the welfare-reform bill, has written an engrossing book
about how this ambitious campaign proposal led to the most
important domestic-policy requirements for welfare recipients.
This is both a terrific political-science text on how Congress
functions (when it functions, that is) and an engrossing tale of a
tense and dramatic political struggle." —E.J. McMahon, New York
Post, 12/10/2006|"Haskins has done a superb job of telling the
story of the landmark welfare reform legislation, providing
wonderful insights about politics and policy-making as well as
about welfare. Even for those who were less than enthusiastic about
the substance of welfare reform, this is a fascinating and valuable
read.
Haskins knows how to tell a good story, complete with laughs,
suspense, empathy, novelistic details, memorable characters and a
distinct point of view." —Frank Solomon, Policy & Practice,
12/1/2006|"This book offers a marvelously detailed and nuanced
study of the reform, which few are better suited to write about
than Haskins." —Peter R. Latusek, Library Journal, 11/1/2006|"Ron
Haskins writes with humor and candor about the political process
and the intrigue that brought the policy change. This insider's
view, an accessible demonstration of how sausage (law) is made, is
a 'must read' for those who want to make or change policy and need
to know what it takes." —Eloise Anderson, senior fellow, Claremont
Institute|"Ron Haskins has done a superb job of telling the story
of the 1996 welfare reform legislation, with wonderful insights
about politics and policymaking as well as about welfare. Even —or
perhaps especially —for those of us who were and are less than
enthusiastic about the substance of welfare reform, this is a
fascinating and valuable book.
" —Mary Jo Bane, Harvard University|"In a new book, 'Work over
Welfare,' Brookings Institution senior fellow Ron Haskins--a top
Republican congressional staffer during the welfare debate--cites
much evidence of success." —Robert J. Samuelson, Washington Post
and Newsweek, 8/3/2006|"This book will be of interest to all
readers, and will be especially useful for upper-division and
graduate policy process courses. Recommended." —S. Q. Kelly,
Niagara University, CHOICE, 6/1/2007|"Well-written, well-documented
(more than fifty pages of endnotes), and thought provoking.
Haskins' understanding of history, social science research, policy,
politics, research think tanks, and the legislative process is
impressive....For policy experts and researchers interested in the
history of welfare policy in the U.S., Haskins' Work over Welfare
should be a must read." —Scott W. Allard, Brown University,
Publius: The Journal of Federalism|"The real inside story of the
historic 1996 welfare reform by the one man who could write it. Not
only is Ron Haskins the rare political operative who's also a
serious scholar; he also knows how to tell a good story, complete
with laughs, suspense, empathy, novelistic details, memorable
characters, and a distinct point of view. Welfare reform was a rare
and wondrous event, and so is this book." —Mickey Kaus, author of
The End of Equality|"WORK OVER WELFARE is THE inside account of the
making of welfare reform. Ron Haskins tells the story marvelously.
Reform reflected years of earlier Republican policy development and
difficult statecraft within Congress. Even the critics of big
government had to use it to transform welfare, and they did."
—Lawrence M. Mead, Professor of Politics, New York University|"An
excellent first-hand account of the landmark 1996 welfare reform
law, written by a man whose steadfast determination and willingness
to work across party lines helped make that law possible." —Bruce
Reed, president, Democratic Leadership Council|"WORK OVER WELFARE
is insightful, revealing, and fascinating throughout. If you're
interested in either welfare policy or how the Republican Congress
develops major legislation, you'll want to read this book, whether
you concur with Haskins's policy views or not." —Bob Greenstein,
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
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