FYI: The GOP-led House is expected to pass a strict update of 1996’s landmark welfare reform package on Thursday. With President Bush’s backing, the House will toughen work requirements, promote marriage and, even more radically, create a new “superwaiver,” which would let states avoid most remaining federal rules that govern programs for the poor. Next will come the Senate—where, if last year’s half-hearted debates are any guide, lawmakers will push for more childcare money. Both chambers seem willing to ignore the pleas of the nation’s governors, who have asked Congress to keep the more flexible current law just the way it is. Check out Neil deMause’s analysis of how radical a proposal the “superwaiver” really is in the City Limits archive. [2/11/03]