The Upward Mobility Act: A state solutions framework for benefit cliffs

America’s social welfare system is intended to provide needed, temporary stabilization to families striving to escape poverty, while helping them move back into stable employment and self-reliance. But for far too many families, the system makes it economically rational to turn down opportunities to earn more and instead remain on public assistance programs. Congress can pass legislation that empowers states to test innovative solutions to these perverse incentives, within clear guardrails with measurable outcomes that boost work and independence.