In his new book, “Work Over Welfare: The Inside Story of the 1996 Welfare Reform Law”, Ron Haskins, a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution and co-director of Brookings’ Center on Children and Families, provides first-hand insight into the history of and political machinations behind the 1996 Welfare Reform Law. Haskins was a key staffer on the House Ways and Means Committee at the time of the bill’s passage and played a large role its creation. The Examiner interviewed Haskins to get his assessment of the bill on its 10-year anniversary.

Q What about the political landscape in 1996 — and the realities of the welfare state — pushed welfare reform to the top of the agenda in 1996 and made its passage possible?