| To Whom It May Concern: Over the next year, the reauthorization of the
welfare law provides a crucial opportunity to reshape and improve the
architecture of our nation's anti-poverty programs. As our nation
confronts a recession, the debate over TANF reauthorization should be
grounded in the recognition that while welfare caseloads are down,
persistent poverty is still with us. There are a couple of important
changes that are needed to ensure that TANF rewards and supports working
families, and to help parents prepare for jobs that pay well and provide
opportunities for advancement. 1. Overhaul TANF to focus on Poverty
Reduction Since 1996, states have achieved significant caseload decline
(though some of this may be reversed due to the economic downturn) and
large numbers of single parents have entered the workforce. While poverty
rates in most states did fall over the past several years, the reductions
in poverty have been far smaller than the reductions in welfare caseloads.
TANF reauthorization should refocus states' efforts toward the goal of
poverty reduction. By replacing process-oriented measures of state
performance with outcome measures, such as poverty reduction and family
and child-wellbeing, federal TANF dollars will be addressing both the
short and long-term solutions for families in need. 2. Stop the time limit
"clock" for families in Compliance Families that are working and receiving
modest cash assistance grants to supplement their low earnings should not
be subject to the federal time limit on assistance. TANF should send a
strong message to recipients that "work pays" - running the federal time
limit clock while a family is working undermines this message. 3. Suspend
work requirements and time limits in areas of high unemployment Given
growing unemployment and mass layoffs in industries that typically employ
low-wage workers, it is unrealistic to require needy families to find jobs
where there are none, nor is it fair to deny them assistance. Flexibility
should be allowed in areas of high unemployment. 4. Count Education and
Training as a work activity Federal law should be modified to remove
restrictions on the extent to which vocational educational training can be
counted toward the federal participation rates. There is much evidence
that effective education and training programs can enhance substantially
the employability of TANF recipients and the law should not discourage the
use of those programs. 5. Restore TANF and other benefits to Immigrants
Our economy relies heavily on the labor and taxes of immigrants, who
comprise a growing share of the low-wage workforce. As taxpayers, they
also contribute to the cost of providing benefits and services for
low-income families and should not be excluded from programs that could
help them attain skills needed to advance in the labor market and provide
a safety net when temporary hardship interrupts their employment. TANF
reauthorization legislation should restore fully food stamp, SSI,
Medicaid, and TANF benefits for legal immigrants. 6. Expand TANF Cash
Assistance and related benefits to two-parent and low-wage working
families One of the most common complaints about the former AFDC program
was that welfare rules were inequitable because it served only a subset of
low-income families, often excluding two-parent and low-wage working
families. With few exceptions, states policies under TANF have preserved
these inequities. If Congress and the Administration is serious about
work, marriage, and family formation, these inequities must be addressed.
7. Create Public Jobs for families reaching time limits and those with
limited work experience Options need to be available to people who have
limited work experience and when the economy (generally, or in a specific
community) fails to offer job opportunities. Public jobs programs should
be established to ensure that work and training are available to parents
with limited work experience and to provide a safety net for families when
work is unavailable because of economic conditions. 8. Provide an
inflation adjustment to the TANF block grant, and greater funding to
states when the economy weakens While the block grant is being used for an
array of important initiatives, it has fallen in real value by 13.5
percent since 1997. If TANF block grants are not increased-at least to
adjust for inflation-states will face a serious funding shortfall and many
important programs now helping a broad array of low-income families will
be cut. 9. Require states to collect reliable and public data States
should collect and make publicly available data on their performance,
broken down by race and ethnicity, to ensure that services are provided
equitably and that civil rights laws are aggressively enforced. 10.
Require adequate screening of families seeking assistance and create an
affirmative federal obligation to serve families in need. In addition to
these specific changes in the federal TANF block grant, to truly tighten
the safety net for low-income families, Congress and the Administration
should: reform the Unemployment Insurance system to provide an adequate
safety net for all unemployed workers; strengthen the Food Stamp program,
the first line of defense against hunger; increase the federal minimum
wage by $1.50 an hour; and expand health insurance coverage through
Medicaid to low-wage workers. Only when we have a comprehensive and
cohesive public policy to address the needs of low-income families and
their barriers to employment will we be able to say that welfare reform
has been a "success." Sincerely, Stephanie House |
