Rep. Paul Ryan concludes that 50 years after President Lyndon Johnson launched the War on Poverty , a pathway out of poverty has become a patchwork of bureaucratic challenges . The Wisconsin Republican has zeroed in on the subject in a comprehensive analysis that points to repetition and inefficiencies in federal poverty programs . Ryan , chairman of the House Budget Committee and a possible 2016 presidential candidate , released the 204-page report one day before President Barack Obama was due to unveil his budget blueprint for the next fiscal year . Read the report . Obama aims to ignite a conversation about federal safety net spending . Fifteen percent of Americans , nearly 50 million people , live in poverty . Ryan 's report questions the size and scope of the government 's effort to tackle poverty . It says 92 federal programs geared for low-income people cost $ 799 billion per year . `` For too long , we have measured compassion by how much we spend instead of how many people get out of poverty , '' Ryan wrote said in a statement . `` We need to take a hard look at what the federal government is doing and ask , 'Is this working ? ' '' Considered a Republican policy visionary , the 2012 GOP vice presidential nominee released the report amid a listening and learning tour of low-income neighborhoods that began 18 months ago after President Barack Obama was reelected . Ryan toured struggling neighborhoods with Bob Woodson , the head of the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise , an organization that works with disenfranchised people . In an interview with CNN in December , Woodson applauded Ryan 's efforts because before he could write policy , he `` needs to understand what the needs are . '' The political war on poverty . Ryan 's report is highly critical of many of the programs , saying they contribute to the `` poverty trap . '' Because `` benefits decline as recipients make more money - poor families face very high implicit marginal tax rates . The federal government effectively discourages them from making more money , '' the report says . It does not detail any solutions or alternatives ; it identifies the programs , their cost and cites reports and studies on each program , with many concluding that the programs due more harm than good . For instance , in his analysis of the Social Security Insurance program for disabled , Ryan points to a report that says : `` At age 18 , approximately two-thirds of beneficiaries remain on adult SSI benefits . '' But not all of the reports he cites give negative reviews . For instance , Ryan cited numerous reports analyzing assistance for low-income families for child care found the program was effective in helping women enter the work force or enroll in education or job training programs . Paul Ryan welcomes Pope 's welfare debate . `` This report will help start the conversation . It shows that some programs work ; others do n't . And for many of them , we just do n't know , '' Ryan said . The report comes as Obama has amplified the issue of the growing wage gap between the rich and the poor , making income inequality a signature theme for this year that includes lifting the minimum wage . Ryan , who is a vocal advocate of a smaller government , has already met intense skepticism . The Democratic National Committee quickly pounced . This report is just a rehash of a failed economic agenda that Americans keep rejecting , '' DNC spokesman Michael Czin said in a statement . `` Republicans just do n't get it . Their plan is to block a minimum wage increase , cut access to higher education , slash early childhood programs , voucherize Medicare and shred the social safety net â€ ” a safety net that lifted 45 million Americans out of poverty in 2012 alone . '' When he proposed reforms to Social Security , Medicare and Medicaid in 2010 , he took immediate flak from Obama and Democrats who said he wanted to dismantle the big-ticket entitlements . The report was laced with partisan political ideas . For instance , it identified `` the breakdown of family '' as a main cause of poverty - a common Republican talking point that rankles Democrats . Dr. Mariana Chilton , director of the Center of Hunger Free Communities and associate professor at Drexel University , said she is pleased Ryan `` ignites a new conversation '' about poverty . But she said that some of the evidence he cites in his report , especially regarding food stamps and other nutrition assistance programs , is selective and incomplete . `` It would get an ' F ' in my master 's classes , '' she said . Since the presidential election when Mitt Romney came under fire for his `` 47 % '' comments , saying nearly half of all Americans think the government should provide for them , some high profile Republicans have tried to take up the mantle of poverty reduction . Arthur Brooks , president of the American Enterprise conservative think tank who has worked with Paul on the issue of poverty , said the congressman 's involvement in the issue `` really signals that this is a priority for conservative politicians today . '' Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul , a Kentucky Republican , has proposed `` economic freedom zones '' and traveled to struggling cities to talk about them . Even Sen. Marco Rubio , a Florida Republican , unveiled an anti-poverty agenda in early January . Rand Paul fights for felon voting rights . `` The truth is , that by any estimation , things have gotten worse for poor people . It 's appropriate for the ( Republican ) opposition to say , 'what do we have that 's better ? ' '' Brooks said . Ryan is expected to continue the conversation and will likely have `` more to say in this area '' later this year , an aide said .
Congressman Paul Ryan released a report that analyzes 92 government programs for low - income people . He says the government 's War on Poverty cost $ 799 billion in 2012 . America has taken up the mantle of poverty in the past year . The report comes one day before President Obama releases his budget .