State and federal welfare policies are trapping millions of families in dependency. The law that requires able-bodied adults to work, train, or volunteer in order to receive welfare has a gaping hole: able-bodied parents and middle-age adults, ages 50-64, are exempt. Fortunately, Congress and the Trump administration can move these able-bodied adults from welfare to work with one simple move — ending the exemption.

Decades of experience and proven results have taught us that these exemptions, however well-intentioned they may have initially been, trap people in dependency and limit their chances at better lives. And it’s not just a temporary trap. Two in five able-bodied parents on food stamps have spent eight or more years on the program.