Press Release

May 16, 2002

UDALL: HOUSE-PASSED WELFARE 
REFORM BILL FAILS NEW MEXICO

Legislation Would Cost State $150 Million to Implement

WASHINGTON – Today the U.S. House was asked to choose between two blueprints for reauthorization of the landmark 1996 welfare reform initiative: one offered by a coalition of Democrats, and one offered by House Republicans at the request of the Bush Administration. Both challenge the states to put more welfare recipients to work. But the House GOP proposal, passed largely along party lines, fails to provide the resources needed -- especially childcare -- to enable recipients to work, New Mexico Representative Tom Udall (D-NM) charged.

“The House has passed an unworkable welfare bill that would be devastating to New Mexico,” Udall said. “What we need is to give TANF recipients a roadmap for success, and then provide them with the skills they need to complete the journey - skills like vocational education, job training, basic literacy courses, and even comprehensive substance abuse treatment. And perhaps most critically, we need to ensure that parents making the leap from welfare to work won’t be forced to take a leap of faith that their children will have safe, affordable child care. This bill does none of that.”

In outlining his opposition to the bill, Udall listed five reasons why the measure would harm largely rural states, like New Mexico:

1) IMPOSES AN UNFUNDED MANDATE: Nationally, it would cost states roughly $8 billion to $11 billion dollars, over five years, to implement the work participation requirements in HR 4700, according to the Congressional Budget Office. New Mexico’s share of the unfunded mandate would be $150 million over five years.

2) REDUCES STATE FLEXIBILITY: The bill reduces state flexibility to allow local decision-makers to design local programs with the appropriate mix of services and activities to move welfare recipients toward self-sufficiency. The legislation would impose a one-size fits all structure to the TANF program.

3) LIMITS ACCESS TO EDUCATION AND TRAINING: The legislation restricts state discretion to provide education and training to welfare recipients by eliminating vocational education from the current-law list of work-related activities that count toward the core work requirement (for the first 24 hours a week).

4) LACK OF FUNDING FOR TRANSPORTATION ASSISTANCE: The bill increases work participation requirements for TANF recipients, while providing no additional funding for transportation assistance for individuals who are forced to travel large distances between home and work to fulfill their work requirements.

5) NO HELP FOR FAMILIES LEAVING WELFARE FOR WORK: The bill does nothing to provide additional assistance to welfare leavers so they can escape poverty when they exit welfare. HR 4700 would provide very little new funding for child care, no improvements in transitional health coverage, and no help in boosting wages for those leaving welfare. In addition, the bill does not provide any specific employment credit to the states when individuals leave welfare for work.


Udall voted for an alternative measure that focused more resources on child care. The substitute provided $11 billion more than current law for child care over five years, than the House-passed bill which provided $2 billion. 

As the measure moves to the Senate, Udall championed support for legislation introduced by Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) that would increase child care funding by $11.2 billion over five years. The “Children First Act” would bring an additional $77 million to New Mexico and would help parents get off welfare.

“We have an opportunity to do something vitally important for our nation’s families at a very difficult time for low- and middle-income workers, but the majority has missed the chance for now. Hopefully, the House bill will be dead on arrival at the Senate, and we’ll get a better bill for in the future. I wish that the majority would have worked with us to craft a genuine compromise – as we recently joined together to do on the border security bill,” Udall concluded.

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