February 2005

Movement on TANF

After three years of impasse, current indications are that TANF reauthorization will finally happen this year – and sooner rather than later.  Several TANF bills have already been introduced in Congress, the Human Resources subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee has already held a TANF hearing, and Senate Finance Committee staff members have been meeting regularly to explore common ground for moving a TANF reauthorization bill.  This urgency is in response to the particularly difficult budget situation this year, which could lead to TANF being reauthorized as part of a possible budget reconciliation bill and to cuts to the program. 

As in past years, the focus of the advocacy community is on Senate activity because the House will likely pass a bill similar to those from previous years with little opportunity for debate.  In the Senate, members of the Finance Committee are hoping to develop a bipartisan bill that both Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Ranking Member Max Baucus (D-MT) could agree to pass in the Committee in early March and then put on the floor.  The starting point for their discussions is last year’s PRIDE (Personal Responsibility and Individual Development for Everyone) bill, but certain changes are being made to accommodate concerns from members of both parties.  The changes could include an increase in child care funding and improvements to education and training provisions among others.  Because these discussions are happening now, it is critical for advocates to weigh in with both Democratic and Republican offices as soon as possible.

Background

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families law was set to expire in 2002.  Congress has since extended the program eight times. The most recent extension will expire March 31^st.

In the 108^th session of Congress, the House passed H.R. 4 in February 2003, which included stricter worker requirements, inadequate child care funding, a dangerous “superwaiver” proposal, and several other provisions of concern to advocates.

The Senate Finance Committee approved the PRIDE bill (an amended version of H.R. 4) in October 2003.  The full Senate began an abbreviated debate this bill in March 2004, but Majority Leader Frist (R-TN) pulled the bill from the floor three days later, after failing to win a procedural vote to close off debate. Before the bill was pulled, the Senate voted by a margin of 78 to 20 to increase child care funding by $6 billion on top of the $1 billion in new funds in the bill approved by the Senate Finance Committee.  Although an improvement over the House bill, the PRIDE Act still fell short of the providing the tools and resources to truly help families move toward self-sufficiency.

NAC Position

The welfare system is one of the important avenues through which government attempts to meet its responsibilities to provide for the common good, promote equal opportunity for all, and ensure that the basic needs of all its citizens are met.  It provides a critical, though limited, safety net for low-income and other vulnerable families.  Given the wealth of this nation, we can and should do more. 

The National Advocacy Center continues to hope and advocate for a welfare bill that truly addresses the needs of low-income families by providing the services and resources to help them overcome barriers to employment, provide quality care for their children, and attain the skills needed for jobs that help them move out of poverty and live lives of dignity.  To do this, a TANF reauthorization bill must:

• Maintain current work requirements and participation rates
• Significantly increase child care funding
• Increase access to education and training and give states the flexibility to expand what counts as work (care-giving, counseling, treatment) to address barriers to employment
• Allow states to provide benefits to lawfully present immigrants
• Reject the “superwaiver” proposal that would allow government to waive important protections in programs that serve people with low-incomes.

Since 2000, the ranks of those living in poverty have increased by 3 million and the number of those living in severe poverty has also risen.  Former welfare recipients have been hit particularly hard by the recent economic downturn with employment rates for single mothers declining significantly and the number of families eligible for TANF on the rise.  However, for a variety of reasons, the number of those actually receiving TANF has remained flat so that now less than 50% of those eligible for TANF receive assistance (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, CBPP).  To impose stricter requirements in TANF now would only exacerbate this situation and put already vulnerable families even more at risk.

NAC Communications with Congress

June 2004 

Another 3-month Extension for TANF

On June 22^nd, the House and Senate passed H.R. 4589 to extend the current TANF/Child Care programs for another three months since Congress has failed to reach an agreement on a full 5-year reauthorization. The prospects for achieving a full reauthorization remain slim and advocates across the country worry that any compromise reached in the current political climate will be significantly worse that current law.  Many organizations are now calling for a clean two-year extension of current law to provide some stability for the program which has been operating under a series of temporary extensions over the past two years and to give Congress more time to fix the many problems with current reauthorization proposals. 

Both H.R. 4 passed by the House and the PRIDE Act that has been debated in the Senate would do more harm than good by imposing overly stringent work requirements, limiting access to education and training, and failing to restore benefits to lawfully present immigrants.  Instead of providing strong work supports and helping families move toward self-sufficiency, these bills would likely force parents into low-paying jobs that perpetuate the cycle of poverty for so many.

The Senate bill does include one positive provision, a $7 billion increase in funding for child care, which was added by amendment in March with strong bipartisan support.  However, this addition is not enough to counteract the overall punitive nature of the PRIDE Act.  Moreover, it is likely that child care funding would be reduced in a conference with H.R. 4, which only includes a $1 billion increase for child care.

For More Information

Welfare Resources from the Coalition on Human Needs

TANF Series from Center on Budget and Policy Priorities