The 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Reconciliation Act required reauthorisation by September 30, 2002. This article describes and explains the political machinations that meant that as of November 2002, this had not occurred. Copious research fed the consensus that the 1996 reforms had been a success and, in the context of a muted debate that lacked vision, political expediency ruled the day. While minor deficiencies of the system may be tackled in 2003, for the most part the major weaknesses will probably endure.