motivational reading, smoking cessation, weight loss promotion, participating in parent-teacher meetings and helping a friend and relative with the household tasks and errands. republicans dismiss that. saying it was an effort to bypass congress, the only body they say would be authority to change the work requirement. >> that is a very significant grab of power that congress never intended. congress did not give the secretary of health and human services or any executive branch member for that matter the authority to waive work requirements under welfare. >> republican presidential candidate mitt romney offered his own interpretation. >> for the president to go back, and try and erase that, is not fair to the people who rely on welfare. it's not fair to the people who are taxpayers in this country. it's the wrong course, it creates a permanent underclass in america. >> the administration said it won't eliminate the work requirement, but may let the states use different meths than those in the legislation.