President Obama hits back at Romney "welfare" distortion

This ad hits back at the Mitt Romney ad released earlier this week which falsely accused President Obama of weakening work requirements for welfare recipients.

In reality, the Obama administration is simply giving states the ability to experiment with new work programs, along the lines of a reform that Romney himself requested in 2005.

As the directive from the Department of Health and Human Services states, “HHS is encouraging states to consider new, more effective ways to meet the goals of [Temporary Assistance for Needy Families], particularly helping parents successfully prepare for, find, and retain employment.”

HHS says it will cancel waivers that do not further TANF’s goals.

CBS’s AdWatch said of Romney’s ad, “It’s a leap to assume that governors and legislators will seek to return to ‘plain old welfare’ and that the Obama administration will give them the go-ahead.”