WELFARE: Rising incomes in the 1990s cut the number of U.S. families eligible for government cash assistance. However, the number of participants fell even more sharply from 1995 to 2005, apparently due to restrictions imposed by welfare reform legislation in 1996, including work requirements and time limits. Increased participation by eligible families would decrease the rate of “extreme poverty” but would not lift many above the poverty line (Government Accountability Office). Also see a related hearing by the House Ways and Means Committee’s Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support.