Cutting the Social Safety Net: Why Did Democrats Vote For and Against Welfare Reform?
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2017
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Haverford College. Department of Political Science
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Thesis
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Award
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eng
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Bi-College users only
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Abstract
This senior thesis analyses the passage of welfare reform in 1996 to understand congressional voting behavior. Democrats, who traditionally support the social safety net, were split on supporting this legislation that would end the six-decade guarantee to cash-assistance. This punitive bill would disproportionally affect African Americans, who overwhelmingly support the Party. This research project aims to understand why black interests were largely ignored and furthermore, why Democrats supported legislation that would dismantle the signature liberal platform of the party. My findings suggest that the racial identities and ideological scores of representatives and the percentage of households receiving public assistance income per district are strong predictors of voting behavior. Additionally, this analysis finds that some Democrats supported the bill to advance the interests of their party in the upcoming election, distancing themselves from the traditional Democratic ideology; however, this is notably not applicable to all members. Furthermore many Democrats, most remarkably numerous liberals, used the widespread disdain for welfare policy and its recipients for political gain. Ultimately, this analysis highlights the notion that representatives will support policy positions least likely to jeopardize their individual reelection efforts.