in numerous federal programs congress considers the federal budget on an agency by agency or program by program basis the gao report was the first attempt at a comprehensive view of federal spending by function today in what will  likely be the first of a series of hearings the subcommittee will begin taking a more focused look at gaos findings starting with the area of social welfare programs since lyndon johnson declared war on poverty in one thousand nine hundred and sixty four americans have spent sixteen dollars trillion on welfare at the state and federal level under current administration plans ten dollars trillion more will be spent over the next decade how much of that spending will be wasted on duplicative programs each with their own overhead it budgets bureaucracy and advertising budgets how much of that spending will be wasted on a program that fails to help the people it is designed to help the targeted population while a different program with an identical mission may be succeeding with less money gao found that the federal government spent more than ninety dollars billion on eighteen different domestic food and nutrition assistance programs more than eighteen dollars billion on forty seven different programs providing employment and training and three dollars billion on twenty different homelessness programs the federal government also currently funds eighty programs in eight different agencies to provide transportation services to transportation disadvantaged persons while gao was unable to figure out exactly how much these eighty programs cost the american taxpayers it was able to determine that a small subset of them totaled two dollars billion annually gao has also concluded that not enough is known about the effectiveness of many of these programs for example they found that only seven of eighteen federal food assistance programs had been associated with positive health and nutrition outcomes while the remaining eleven have not been effective the president signaled his intent to address federal program duplicati state of the union address where he stated we shouldnt just give our people a government that is more affordable we should give them a government that is more competent and more efficient the american people would certainly agree with that two weeks later the president addressed the u s chamber of commerce reiterating his plan to address efficiency they deserve a welfare system whose goals actually help people quickly reach the point where they no longer need it and provide for themselves one in which multiple departments and multiple agencies manage programs that waste money through overlap and report that focused on duplicative federal programs and highlighted opportunities to potentially enhance federal revenues by reducing inefficiencies and overlap in a three hundred and thirty nine page report gao devoted just eighteen pages to addressing opportunities that may exist for reducing costs and improving efficiencies of certain federal programs most notably food assistance programs and job training programs in both the continuing resolution votes as well as other budget proposals these programs in particular were targeted for severe cuts gaos findings are valuable as long as they are not misunderstood gao recommended streamlining the administration of multiple programs delivering comparable benefits to similar overlapping populations not recommend delivering fewer benefits to those in need in the aftermath of the most economically destructive recession since the great depression poverty has been on the rise according to the food research and action cent nearly one in five americans struggled to afford enough food for themselves and their families in two thousand and ten in ohio my home state there were one point seven million people living in poverty in two thousand  the state of ohio the level of food insecurity is greater than thirteen percent the highest level in a generation this statistic alone shows how dire the need is and how critical federal food assistance programs are in ohio and nationwide our economy is showing positive signs of improvement but to be heard to whom it may concern the hunger center to me is like a godsend without the food center i dont know how i would survive every month food stamps dont make it each month thank you for your support  would like thank god for avon baptist church god is good and i am thankful for avon baptist church helping me and my grandchildren at a time of need the food center has been so good to me and my family and grandchildren time is hard and i thank god for the center the food pantry helped me and my kids have food and some days i dont know what me and my kids would have done without meals that lasts us all month it is only by the grace of god that my family and i have been fed when we have no money at all the volunteers at the food bank have helped this community the best way they can and here at avon and also smiles with good people who really care i dont know what i would do without their help god bless and finally helped me to feed my family great help to make it through the in march on duplication in government services i was very concerned that we were wasting taxpayer dollars so i am glad that the committee is digging into these issues i think we walk a fine balance there is no one who doesnt understand the need for these services but we owe it to the american people to make sure there is an effective and efficient use of those dollars we are using for the programs the report covered a very broad range of program so we are going to focus on some of those today that report stated that the federal government spent over sixty two dollars billion on eighteen different domestic food and nutrition programs for low income individuals in fiscal year two thousand and eight the gao report stated these programs showed signs of overlap and inefficient use of resources it also mentioned we fund forty seven different programs across multiple agencies to provide employment and training service to help the unemployed get  defense agriculture energy and homeland security the majority decided to focus todays hearing on a tiny subset of these programs that help some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in our society those in need of food housing transportation and job training the majority is targeting these same programs for significant cuts in their two thousand and twelve budget proposals the center on budget and policy estimates that two thirds of the republican budgets troubling given the republican ultimatum last year to force the extension of all president bushs tax cuts for the nations wealthiest individuals it is even more troubling in light of their recent efforts to protect lucrative tax breaks for oil companies making record profits americans across the country are struggling to overcome the impact of the worst financial crisis since the great depression according to an october two thousand and ten report issued by the congressional research service three point seven million more people fell below the poverty line in two thousand and nine compared to two thousand and eight these three point seven million people were pushed into poverty by a recession they did not create in two thousand and nine a total of forty three point six million people had incomes below the poverty line here in america more than at any time since we began tracking this measure in one thousand nine hundred and fifty nine the increase in poverty in america has been accompan some part of the year in my hometown of baltimore forty miles from here thirteen point three percent of families with children fall into this unfortunate category these are horrible statistics but they are the benchmarks against which we measure our success as a society i believe with all my heart that our nation is better than this we can do better and we must do better of course we must strive to eliminate unnecessary duplication and streamline the delivery of benefits ring that every hungry child is adequately fed that every sick person has access to medical care and that every family has a safe place to live this is the american way these efforts not only help our fellow americans get back on their feet but they insure that our next generation is ready to compete and succeed the future of our country is in their hands mister chairman protecting the poor should not be a partisan issue in his most recent state of the union address president  unnecessary duplication in government programs i wholeheartedly agree with that he also established an initiative called government reform for competitiveness and innovation and he included several program cuts in his budget to help eliminate waste i applaud the presidents leadership and i strongly support steps to help streamline government and make it more effective and efficient for the american people i hope we can work together in a bi partisan way to improve rather than eliminate services to those struggling to m duplication overlap and fragmentation can be harbingers of unnecessary duplication we also identified in the report forty seven other areas of potential cost savings or revenue enhancement reducing or eliminating government duplication overlap and fragmentation could potentially save billions of tax dollars annually and help agencies provide more efficient and effective services the current situation of multiple and overlapping programs evolved over decades difficult decisions and sustained attention by the administration and the congress will be required to determine what programs are needed now this will be complicated by the fact that data showing the effectiveness or lack thereof in current programs is often nonexistent or insufficient in addition in some cases we dont know exactly what we are spending today i will focus on four areas in our report of programs that provide assistance with food employment and training homelessness and transportation first the federal government spends more than ninety dollars billion on domestic food assistance provided primarily through eighteen different federal programs the departments of agriculture hhs homeland security and multiple state and local governments work to administer a complex network of programs some of these programs provide similar services to the same population for example six different usda programs provide food to eligible children in settings outside their homes such as schools day care and summer camps while having multiple programs helps ensure that those in need have access to food it also increases administrative costs complicating any decisions about streamlining food assistance programs is the fact that little is known about the effectiveness of eleven of the eighteen programs in fiscal year two thousand and nine forty seven programs spent about eighteen dollars billion on employment and training services of these forty seven forty four overlap with at least one other program in that they provided at least one similar service to a similar population for example three of the largest programs provide job search assistance nearly all programs track outcome information but only five of the forty seven gao identified have conducted an impact study to determine whether the program is actually responsible for improved employment outcomes gao has previously recommended to labor and hhs that those agencies work together to develop and disseminate information that could inform state efforts to increase administrative efficiencies and examine the incentives for states and localities to undertake such efforts in two thousand and nine federal agencies spent about two  cents billion on over twenty programs targeted to address the various needs of persons experiencing homelessness in some cases different agencies may be offering similar types of services to similar populations for example at least seven federal agencies administer programs to provide some type of shelter or housing assistance to persons experiencing homelessness this fragmentation can create difficulties for people accessing services and administrative burdens for providers who must navigate various application requirements selection criteria and reporting requirements the u s interagency council on homelessness has provided a renewed focus on coordinating efforts and recently developed a strategic plan for agencies involved in the fight to end homelessness however once again decisions on how to reduce its fragmentation and overlap could be hindered due to lack of comprehensive data it is exacerbated by a lack of consistent definition finally gao identified eighty existing federal programs across eight federal departments that provide funding for transportation services for those who are transportation disadvantaged an example of the impact of fragmentation in this area is the departments of agriculture and labor both fund programs that provide transportation for low income use seeking employment or job training as in other areas i have discussed today some actions are underway for example the interagency transportation coordinating council on access and mobility has taken steps to encourage and facilitate coordination across agencies but more is needed in conclusion opportunities exist to streamline and more efficiently carry out programs in those four areas careful thoughtful analysis will be needed to address some of the issues discussed in our march report and having am here today to talk about means tested welfare assistance which means programs that are targeted to core and low income individuals providing cash food housing medical care and social services for example food stamps is a means tested program social security is not the big secret here is that the federal government runs over sixty nine major means tested assistance programs the problem isnt so much duplication but the fact there are so many programs no one in th city has any clue how much money you are spending on the poor absolutely no clue whatsoever when you look at the welfare state it is as if you have a jigsaw puzzle with sixty nine different pieces the way congress operated was to look at one piece imagine if you ran your family budget that way you never added anything up you just looked at each component one at a time that is the way we run the welfare state in fiscal year two thousand and eleven total spending on these sixty nine programs was nine hundred and forty dollars billion seventy five percent of that was federal spending twenty five percent was state spending mainly state contributions required into medicaid combined federal and state means tested spending is now the second largest category in government spending overall in the nation it is exceeded only by social security and medicare it exceeds the cost of public education let me repeat that it exceeds the cost of public education and it dwarfs the cost of national defense in the two decades before the current recession means tested welfare was the fastest growing component of government spending we never heard that in the washington post it grew more rapidly than social security and medicare and the rate of increase dwarfed that of public education and national defense despite the fact that means tested welfare was at record levels when he took office president obama has increased this spending by a third but this is a permanent a temporary increase in spending according to obamas spending plans means tested welfare will not decline as the recession ends but will continue to grow rapidly for the next decade and will soon be over one dollar trillion a year he plans to dollars trillion over the next decade at least about half of this nine hundred and fifty dollars billion goes to low income families with children that is about four hundred and seventy dollars billion a year if that amount of money were divided evenly among the lowest income one third of all families and children which is about fifteen million families that comes to around thirty thousand dollars per family the amount of money being put out there simply dwar programs the means tested welfare system is a vast hidden welfare state about which the public and legislators know virtually nothing you cant debate it or make rational decisions solely on a piecemeal basis you have to look at the aggregate spending under some type of reasonable constraint if we have to continue to spend we certainly want to assist the poor but we have to have some reasonable constraint i would propose that we take this aggregate spending and when the recession end we should roll that spending back to the pre recession level which was already a record level already beyond anyones understanding and then allow it to grow at inflation for the foreseeable future that would be a reasonable compromise that would help us deal with our debt and our deficit but would continue to provide very generous assistance to low income persons finally i would say the biggest problem with these programs is not that they are inefficient but that they generate poverty themselves every one of these programs will reward people for not working and it rewards people for not marrying and those are the two principle causes of child poverty these programs generate need for themselves the more money you put into them the more people in need of aid you create and therefore the more need for future spending you create we need a welfare system that changes those incentives and encourages individuals to work and become self sufficient and certainly encourages marriage rather than penalizes it that is what lyndon johnson said when he launched the war on poverty he said i dont want to put people on the dole i dont want to put people on government assistance i want them to become prosperous and self sufficient series of studies and reports over the past three decades regarding the need to reform and streamline the federal government programs to make them more efficient and responsive while a lot of the duplication and overlap exists at the federal level the multitude of federal programs serving similar populations are usually administered by a small handful of agencies at the state level such as welfare human services agencies or state workforce agencies much like the gao report before us congress in the late three which offered approximately three hundred and eighty major recommendations again the clinton administration implemented those that it could administratively in the executive branch but congress generally failed to implement those that had to be done legislatively omb then in two thousand and four under george w bushs administration then implemented the program assessment rating tool part to rate all federal programs on their effectiveness in an effort to ensure federal programs were accountable and achieved the results for which they had originally been established republican and democratic presidents have identified federal programs including welfare programs that should be cut eliminated or reformed congress however has failed to act on the vast majority of the recommendations hopefully this hearing marks a different juncture in history would not be an effective reform of welfare but would tend to create an even greater human problem a limit should be set on the gross income that a family would receive and still remain eligible for welfare benefits for all those who are employable a requirement be adopted that work in the community be performed as a condition of eligibility for welfare benefits without additional compensation and the greatest single problem in welfare today is the breakdown of family responsibility and strong provisions should be made to insure maximum support from responsible parents governor and when he was president and carleson continued his efforts towards block granting welfare even after reagan left office under reagans vision welfare reform is not just about saving taxpayers money but moving beneficiaries from  thank you for the opportunity to testify today i represent the ohio association of second harvest foodbanks ohios largest charitable response to hunger we provide food funding training technical assistance and ohio benefit bank services to a network of three thousand food pantr soup kitchens and homeless shelters eighty percent of our charities are faith based volunteer driven operating on budgets of less than twenty five thousand dollars a year half of all the food we distribute comes as a result of federal and state funding over the last decade the number of ohioans in poverty has grown by a staggering forty six percent and the effects of the great recession are still with us deeper poverty lower fixed incomes minimum wages part time employment and many are suffering from long term unemployment in the last quarter of two thousand and ten our charities served nearly two point one million ohioans and half of those we served were children and the elderly yet every day more hungry ohioans are standing in our lines and their limited budgets are now being further shattered by rapidly rising food and fuel costs it is bad out there those who were already hanging by their fingertips are now falling into the abyss and the organizations that we serve are begging for crumbs and praying for a miracle mister chairman the gao produced a very balanced report and i support many of its findings but there are some real world realities to these findings that must be highlighted one program overlap does not always mean duplication some of these critical programs already have fixed funding eligibility and enrollment caps and cannot respond to increased need particularly in a weak economy many families who struggle with hung are not poor enough to qualify for support the consequences of increasing hunger and malnutrition are severe including lowered productivity educational achievement and astronomical health care costs snap the largest usda program served nearly forty two million americans one in seven americans received food stamps in february it has the lowest eligibility of all federal nutrition programs and the maximum benefits lasts less than two and a half weeks out of every month the gao reports describes the commodity supplemental food program as one of the duplicative programs citing that many seniors eligible for this program are also eligible for snap yet seniors with limited mobility and transportation barriers may not be able to purchase food at a grocery store and therefore benefit from both a box of food provided through the emergency assistance program and csfp as well as home delivered meals in ohio a fortunate twenty thousand four hundred and sixty three seniors receive a forty pound box of government food valued at eighteen dollars seventy seven cents a month the waiting list for this program is long and many of our food banks report that seniors in their communities call and ask for the c box of a recipient that they know has gone into a nursing home or worse yet other non participating seniors will read the obituaries and if they see the name of someone they know who has received csfp they ask if they can receive the deceased recipients box of food this is hardly a case of people getting too many benefits rather it shows people do not have enough to eat another example of the real world reality of vulnerable ohioans is that one out of every two babies born in ohio is potentially eligible for wic a modest supplemental program like snap it is not intended to meet the participants entire nutritional needs in fact a study conducted by the university of cincinnati childrens hospital found that sixty five percent of the families reported they had run out of formula and did not have money to buy more and thirty nine percent of the families studied were already on wic and snap yet were at risk of hunger all too often these programs do  always reach the poor because of rules and requirements that are confusing requiring families in need to produce multiple documents and verifications many times at multiple agencies using precious time and gas money traveling and sitting in waiting rooms of agencies that would be better spent keeping a job and finding a new one and it does not make sense for people with limited mobility we agree with gao that programs are decentralized lack coordination and data sharing all of which are required to improve efficiencies and effectiveness i would like to briefly share our associations experience in reducing efficiencies and unnecessary overlap while ensuring that people receive access to benefits our association met this challenge head on we implemented the ohio benefit bank and internet based application assistance program which streamlines program access and reduces barriers by providing a single application platform of more than twenty programs we have joined together nine state agencies and four federal agencies and have leveraged public and private resources establishing yes over one thousand one hundred not for profit and faith based and community partners and recruited some four thousand three hundred counselors reaching used to determine and maintain eligibility across all health and human service lines again i thank you for the opportunity and would be pleased to answer any questions you may have mister jordan let me thank all our witnesses we will be back in probably