Wonkbook: Paul Ryan tried and failed to get Republicans to agree on helping the poor

By Max Ehrenfreund After months of work, Paul Ryan and other Republicans in the House released a proposal on how to help poor Americans on Tuesday. The document is one of several that the speaker hopes will offer a clear conservative agenda amid what has been a chaotic presidential campaign. The proposal, however, contains few specific recommendations for changes in policy. Ideas that Ryan and other GOP …   The latest economic and domestic policy from Wonkblog   Paul Ryan discusses his anti-poverty agenda on June 7 in Washington. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images) By Max Ehrenfreund After months of work, Paul Ryan and other Republicans in the House released a proposal on how to help poor Americans on Tuesday. The document is one of several that the speaker hopes will offer a clear conservative agenda amid what has been a chaotic presidential campaign. The proposal, however, contains few specific recommendations for changes in policy. Ideas that Ryan and other GOP policymakers have advanced in the past are conspicuously absent. Instead, the document's conclusions are carefully worded in terms of broad conservative principles. Much of the rest of the text focuses on non-ideological questions such as improving coordination between agencies, gathering more data to aid in the design of policy and making more information available to the public. As The Washington Post's Kelsey Snell and Mike DeBonis report, the document's tone is a result of disagreements within his caucus that the Republican from Wisconsin wasn't able to overcome. "Many of the specific policy prescriptions aimed at addressing the problems identified in the paper were left out because members couldn't agree on details such as how to prevent waste and fraud, according to aides," they write. ADVERTISEMENT   What isn't in the report suggests there are continuing philosophical divisions among Republicans about the proper relationship of government vis-a-vis society and the economy — divisions that could make advancing legislation difficult for Ryan. Read the rest on Wonkblog.   Chart of the day Janet Yellen said to pay attention to this one -- it's a chart of the Federal Reserve's broad index of labor-market conditions. That index is declining and has been for several months. Matt O'Brien has more. Top policy tweets "The basic problem with the Federal Reserve is it has confused timidity with caution https://t.co/3RO1wdOPPH" -- @jeffspross "ACA exchanges can really struggle in rural areas -- hard to make competition work with limited providers/insurers" -- @CitizenCohn "Inching towards the return of year-round Pell... https://t.co/QnSEizGV9E" -- @DaniDougPost Most Recent Posts from Wonkblog 25 states now call marijuana “medicine.” Why doesn’t the DEA? There's a fast growing gap between the DEA and states on drug policy. By Christopher Ingraham  •  Read more »   You don’t need two Swedish men at Stanford to stop a rape Some colleges are teaching their students how to stop a sexual assault. By Danielle Paquette  •  Read more »   Of course Hillary Clinton won There's a reason why it now seems obvious that Hillary Clinton would be Democratic nominee. By Jeff Guo  •  Read more »   Paul Ryan tried and failed to get Republicans to agree on helping the poor A close look at his new agenda on poverty shows crucial details are lacking. By Max Ehrenfreund  •  Read more »   Why time-starved people are happier This isn't about what you have -- it's about what you want By Christopher Ingraham  •  Read more »   Here’s proof President Obama really did reduce inequality New federal data show just how hard some policies hit the wealthy By Max Ehrenfreund  •  Read more »   Janet Yellen said to pay attention to this chart. So why isn’t she? The only thing worse than zero interest rates is having zero recovery. By Matt O'Brien  •  Read more »   How Bernie Sanders changed the Democratic Party Bernie Sanders may not win, but he has powerfully influenced the Democratic Party. By Jim Tankersley  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Recommended for you   Federal Insider Federal news and policy update, in your inbox daily. Sign Up »         Share Wonkbook:       Twitter      Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you signed up for a Wonkblog newsletter. For additional free newsletters or to manage your newsletters, click here. We respect your privacy. If you believe that this email has been sent to you in error or you no longer wish to receive email from The Washington Post, click here. Contact us for help. ©2016 The Washington Post, 1301 K St NW, Washington DC 20071