Following up on Mickey Kaus’ concerns, Ben Sasse and Kerry Weems have a terrific op-ed in the WSJ explaining how the Democratic Congress’ attempt at an economic recovery package will undermine welfare reform:

Through a little noticed provision of the stimulus package that has passed the House of Representatives, the bill creates a fund for TANF [Temporary Assistance to Needy Families] that is open-ended — the same way Medicare and Social Security are.
In the section of the House bill dealing with cash assistance to low-income families, the authors inserted the bombshell phrase: “such sums as are necessary.” This is a profound departure from the current statutory scheme, despite the fact that, in this particular bill, state TANF spending would be capped. The “such sums” appropriation language is deliberately obscure. It is a camel’s nose provision intended to reverse Clinton-era legislation and create a new template for future TANF reauthorizations.