Reducing Poverty in America by Promoting Opportunity and Economic Mobility

Executive Order 13828 of April 10, 2018

Reducing Poverty in America by Promoting
Opportunity and Economic Mobility

By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, and to promote economic mobility, strong
social networks, and accountability to American
taxpayers, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Purpose. The United States and its
Constitution were founded on the principles of freedom
and equal opportunity for all. To ensure that all
Americans would be able to realize the benefits of
those principles, especially during hard times, the
Government established programs to help families with
basic unmet needs. Unfortunately, many of the programs
designed to help families have instead delayed economic
independence, perpetuated poverty, and weakened family
bonds. While bipartisan welfare reform enacted in 1996
was a step toward eliminating the economic stagnation
and social harm that can result from long-term
Government dependence, the welfare system still traps
many recipients, especially children, in poverty and is
in need of further reform and modernization in order to
increase self-sufficiency, well-being, and economic
mobility.

Sec. 2. Policy. (a) In 2017, the Federal Government
spent more than $700 billion on low-income assistance.
Since its inception, the welfare system has grown into
a large bureaucracy that might be susceptible to
measuring success by how many people are enrolled in a
program rather than by how many have moved from poverty
into financial independence. This is not the type of
system that was envisioned when welfare programs were
instituted in this country. The Federal Government's
role is to clear paths to self-sufficiency, reserving
public assistance programs for those who are truly in
need. The Federal Government should do everything
within its authority to empower individuals by
providing opportunities for work, including by
investing in Federal programs that are effective at
moving people into the workforce and out of poverty. It
must examine Federal policies and programs to ensure
that they are consistent with principles that are
central to the American spirit--work, free enterprise,
and safeguarding human and economic resources. For
those policies or programs that are not succeeding in
those respects, it is our duty to either improve or
eliminate them.

    (b) It shall be the policy of the Federal
Government to reform the welfare system of the United
States so that it empowers people in a manner that is
consistent with applicable law and the following
principles, which shall be known as the Principles of
Economic Mobility:

(i) Improve employment outcomes and economic independence (including by
strengthening existing work requirements for work-capable people and
introducing new work requirements when legally permissible);

(ii) Promote strong social networks as a way of sustainably escaping
poverty (including through work and marriage);

(iii) Address the challenges of populations that may particularly struggle
to find and maintain employment (including single parents, formerly
incarcerated individuals, the homeless, substance abusers, individuals with
disabilities, and disconnected youth);

(iv) Balance flexibility and accountability both to ensure that State,
local, and tribal governments, and other institutions, may tailor their
public assistance programs to the unique needs of their communities and to
ensure that welfare services and administering agencies can be held
accountable for achieving outcomes (including by designing and tracking
measures that assess whether programs help people escape poverty);

(v) Reduce the size of bureaucracy and streamline services to promote the
effective use of resources;

(vi) Reserve benefits for people with low incomes and limited assets;

(vii) Reduce wasteful spending by consolidating or eliminating Federal
programs that are duplicative or ineffective;

(viii) Create a system by which the Federal Government remains updated on
State, local, and tribal successes and failures, and facilitates access to
that information so that other States and localities can benefit from it;
and

(ix) Empower the private sector, as well as local communities, to develop
and apply locally based solutions to poverty.

    (c) As part of our pledge to increase opportunities
for those in need, the Federal Government must first
enforce work requirements that are required by law. It
must also strengthen requirements that promote
obtaining and maintaining employment in order to move
people to independence. To support this focus on
employment, the Federal Government should:

(i) review current federally funded workforce development programs. If more
than one executive department or agency (agency) administers programs that
are similar in scope or population served, they should be consolidated, to
the extent permitted by law, into the agency that is best equipped to
fulfill the expectations of the programs, while ineffective programs should
be eliminated; and

(ii) invest in effective workforce development programs and encourage, to
the greatest extent possible, entities that have demonstrated success in
equipping participants with skills necessary to obtain employment that
enables them to financially support themselves and their families in
today's economy.

    (d) It is imperative to empower State, local, and
tribal governments and private-sector entities to
effectively administer and manage public assistance
programs. Federal policies should allow local entities
to develop and implement programs and strategies that
are best for their respective communities.
Specifically, policies should allow the private sector,
including community and faith-based organizations, to
create solutions that alleviate the need for welfare
assistance, promote personal responsibility, and reduce
reliance on government intervention and resources.

(i) To promote the proper scope and functioning of government, the Federal
Government must afford State, local, and tribal governments the freedom to
design and implement programs that better allocate limited resources to
meet different community needs.

(ii) States and localities can use such flexibility to devise and evaluate
innovative programs that serve diverse populations and families. States and
localities can also model their own initiatives on the successful programs
of others. To achieve the right balance, Federal leaders must continue to
discuss opportunities to improve public assistance programs with State and
local leaders, including our Nation's governors.

    (e) The Federal Government owes it to Americans to
use taxpayer dollars for their intended purposes.
Relevant agencies should establish clear metrics that
measure outcomes so that agencies administering public
assistance programs can be held accountable. These
metrics should include assessments of whether programs
help individuals and families find employment, increase
earnings, escape poverty, and avoid long-term
dependence. Whenever possible, agencies should
harmonize their metrics to facilitate easier cross-

programmatic comparisons and to encourage further
integration of service delivery at the local level.
Agencies should also adopt policies to ensure that only
eligible persons receive benefits and enforce all
relevant laws providing that aliens who are not
otherwise qualified and eligible may not receive
benefits.

(i) All entities that receive funds should be required to guarantee the
integrity of the programs they administer. Technology and innovation should
drive initiatives that increase program integrity and reduce fraud, waste,
and abuse in the current system.

(ii) The Federal Government must support State, local, and tribal partners
by investing in tools to combat payment errors and verify eligibility for
program participants. It must also work alongside public and private
partners to assist recipients of welfare assistance to maximize access to
services and benefits that support paths to self-sufficiency.

Sec. 3. Review of Regulations and Guidance Documents.
(a) The Secretaries of the Treasury, Agriculture,
Commerce, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and
Urban Development, Transportation, and Education
(Secretaries) shall:

(i) review all regulations and guidance documents of their respective
agencies relating to waivers, exemptions, or exceptions for public
assistance program eligibility requirements to determine whether such
documents are, to the extent permitted by law, consistent with the
principles outlined in this order;

(ii) review any public assistance programs of their respective agencies
that do not currently require work for receipt of benefits or services, and
determine whether enforcement of a work requirement would be consistent
with Federal law and the principles outlined in this order;

(iii) review any public assistance programs of their respective agencies
that do currently require work for receipt of benefits or services, and
determine whether the enforcement of such work requirements is consistent
with Federal law and the principles outlined in this order;

(iv) within 90 days of the date of this order, and based on the reviews
required by this section, submit to the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget and the Assistant to the President for Domestic
Policy a list of recommended regulatory and policy changes and other
actions to accomplish the principles outlined in this order; and

(v) not later than 90 days after submission of the recommendations required
by section 3(a)(iv) of this order, and in consultation with the Director of
the Office of Management and Budget and the Assistant to the President for
Domestic Policy, take steps to implement the recommended administrative
actions.

    (b) Within 90 days of the date of this order, the
Secretaries shall each submit a report to the
President, through the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget and the Assistant to the
President for Domestic Policy, that:

(i) states how their respective agencies are complying with 8 U.S.C.
1611(a), which provides that an alien who is not a “qualified alien” as
defined by 8 U.S.C. 1641 is, subject to certain statutorily defined
exceptions, not eligible for any Federal public benefit as defined by 8
U.S.C. 1611(c);

(ii) provides a list of Federal benefit programs that their respective
agencies administer that are restricted pursuant to 8 U.S.C. 1611; and

(iii) provides a list of Federal benefit programs that their respective
agencies administer that are not restricted pursuant to 8 U.S.C. 1611.

Sec. 4. Definitions. For the purposes of this order:

    (a) the terms “individuals,” “families,” and
“persons” mean any United States citizen, lawful
permanent resident, or other lawfully present alien who
is qualified to or otherwise may receive public
benefits;

    (b) the terms “work” and “workforce” include
unsubsidized employment, subsidized employment, job
training, apprenticeships, career and technical
education training, job searches, basic education,
education directly related to current or future
employment, and workfare; and
    (c) the terms “welfare” and “public assistance”
include any program that provides means-tested
assistance, or other assistance that provides benefits
to people, households, or families that have low
incomes (i.e., those making less than twice the Federal
poverty level), the unemployed, or those out of the
labor force.

Sec. 5. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

    (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
    (c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.

    (Presidential Sig.)

THE WHITE HOUSE,

    April 10, 2018.