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[Page: E860]  GPO's PDF
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• Mr. POMEROY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to say that I will be voting for H.R. 4737, the majority's plan for reauthorizing the welfare program, but doing so with some reluctance. We have made significant progress in reducing the welfare rolls since Congress authorized Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, TANF , in 1996, and we must build on those successes as we reauthorize this program. However, we must not ignore the important lessons learned since 1996.

• H.R. 4737 is founded on the appropriate philosophy of time-limited assistance and mandated annually increasing levels of work participation by welfare recipients. I strongly support this approach to providing assistance--we don't just offer handouts, we promote self-sufficiency through work, and we offer assistance for a defined amount of time. I believe this combination of progressing milestones, assistance with an end in sight, and work requirements is a good formula for success in reducing poverty. The North Dakota Department of Human Services shares this sentiment, stating their support for ``keeping work the primary focus of TANF reauthorization.''

• However, Mr. Speaker, I want my colleagues in Congress and my constituents to know that I believe the majority plan falls short in a couple of key areas and that I plan to work to correct these shortcomings as the legislation moves forward. Specifically, I want to see improvements in the areas of job training and child care. We must be realistic in setting goals for reducing poverty, and this can best be done by providing beneficiaries better access to skills and resources that will help them permanently escape poverty. I support providing substantially greater resources for child care to help states and welfare recipients meet the work requirements in this legislation. It just makes sense that if we are going to expect more hours at work from beneficiaries, then we should also expect to make available the necessary child care resources to allow beneficiaries to meet those higher standards. Likewise, if we expect welfare recipients to move off assistance and become self-sufficient, then we should equip them with the training and skills they need by encouraging job training and vocational education . H.R. 4737 does not go far enough to this end.

• Providing states with greater discretion and flexibility to determine the best mix of activities needed to move recipients toward self-sufficiency should also be a key component of this plan, and I think it is inadequate in that regard. Flexibility to the States is very important because one size does not fit all in welfare reform and what works well in California may not work at all in North Dakota. Welfare policy must recognize these differences by providing discretion and flexibility to the state agencies that will ultimately implement this policy. We have to correct these deficiencies, and I am confident we can do that by working with the Senate before this bill becomes law.

• Mr. Speaker, common sense dictates that by removing hurdles to job training and education , by providing better access to child care, and by providing flexibility to those who will implement this policy, we greatly enhance the potential for welfare recipients to achieve self-sufficiency. I will vote in favor of H.R. 4737, but I urge my colleagues to join me in making these important improvements as the legislation moves to the Senate.
  

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