| For Immediate
Release: |
Contact
Info: |
| 11/14/2001 |
Tyler Prell or Jason
Dring, (202) 518-8047 |
GRASSROOTS COALITION LAUNCHES "MAKE
TANF WORK!" CAMPAIGN
New Study, Poll Show 2002 Welfare
Reform Reauthorization Should Open Up System To Lift All
Low-Income People Out Of Poverty
WASHINGTON, DC - Leaders from a
diverse collection of constituency organizations today
came together to launch the Make TANF
Work! campaign, an unprecedented grassroots
initiative aimed at repairing the gaping holes in the
safety net left by the Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996. The
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
(TANF) block grant, the product of the 1996
legislation, is set for congressional reauthorization
early next year. The Make TANF Work!
campaign is an effort to redefine the political
landscape and make the needs of all low-income families
the centerpiece of welfare reform reauthorization.
"Five years ago, some people were congratulating
themselves on ending welfare as we knew it." said Deepak
Bhargava, Director of the National Campaign for Jobs and
Income Support (NCJIS). "Today, we are here to
say-not this time. With TANF reauthorization, we are
going to end welfare reform as they
know it."
In the end, TANF did two things: it reduced
caseloads, and then it raised new questions it cannot
answer about poverty, the balance between work and
family obligations, and immigration that. Low-income
workers were forced to choose between their incomes and
their kids and sacrifice education and training to
qualify for benefits. Immigrants lost access to a broad
range of benefits. Welfare leavers are still in poverty
and experiencing hardship. The Make TANF
Work! campaign will seek to redefine TANF into
a program that can answer those questions to the benefit
of all low-income Americans.
The Make TANF Work! campaign is
convened by the NCJIS, a new coalition of 1000
grassroots organizations in 40 states advancing
solutions to poverty at the state and national levels.
The campaign will use TANF reauthorization as a
springboard to launch a nationwide conversation about
poverty. It proposes an agenda that turns TANF into a
platform of opportunity for all low-income people, not
just those now on welfare.
"The 1996 welfare law touched on nearly every poverty
program in which the federal government has a role. The
Make TANF Work! campaign will use the
2002 welfare reauthorization as an opportunity to
reshape the architecture of poverty programs in
America," said Bhargava. "We are not going to re-fight
the battle of 1996. We are organized to use the
opportunities TANF has given us to deal with poverty in
a comprehensive way."
The recession that began earlier this year and
accelerated dramatically since September 11 is going to
be devastating for low-income people. A Recession
Like No Other, a new report released today by
NCJIS, shows that this will be the first economic
downturn in recent memory in which millions of low-wage
workers lack a safety net. The report is the first
analysis that estimates how many families will fall
through the widening holes in the nation's Unemployment
Insurance, welfare and food stamps safety nets.
For example, if the unemployment rate increases by
two percentage points over August 2001 levels, the
report estimates that an additional 3.4 million people
will be pushed below the poverty line, and that the
national poverty rate will increase from 11.9 percent to
13.1 percent. The study finds that large numbers of
families will not qualify for unemployment insurance,
welfare or food stamps because of restrictive state
policies, time limits, limited funding, and immigrant
exclusions.
NCJIS also released a poll today (nationwide survey
of 1,000 registered voters conducted by The Feldman
Group between July 30 and August 2, 2001) showing that
Americans overwhelmingly support overhauling the current
"work first" welfare system in favor of a program that
helps low-income families lift themselves out of
poverty. This includes providing opportunities for
education and training, allowing recipients to balance
the competing demands of work and family life, and
ensuring access to incomes that will lift low-income
families above the poverty line. Among the poll's
findings:
- 67 percent of voters support reforming the current
welfare system into one that helps people get the
education and skills they need to move out of poverty.
- 47 percent of voters believe the principal goal of
welfare reform should be providing people with
opportunities to get ahead.
- 65 percent of voters favor "stopping the clock" on
time limits for parents who are "playing by the rules"
and doing everything the system requires.
- 95 percent of voters support allowing people to
fulfill their work requirement by seeking education
and skills training. 75 percent strongly approve of
counting education and training towards work
requirements.
- 64 percent of voters support allowing parents with
children under age 6 to stay at home and still receive
benefits.
The Make TANF Work! campaign also released its policy
recommendations today for 2002 TANF reauthorization. The
proposal completely reorients TANF, transforming it into
an economic security program for all low income
families. The recommendations include:
- "Stopping the clock" for families in compliance
with federal requirements.
- Suspending work requirements and time limits in
areas of high unemployment.
- Counting education and training as work activity.
- Restoring TANF and other related benefits to
immigrants.
- Opening up TANF cash assistance and related
benefits to two parent and low-wage working families.
- Creating public jobs for families reaching time
limits and those with limited work experience.
- Reducing or eliminating work requirements for
parents with young, sick or disabled children.
- Ending discrimination by requiring states to
collect and make public data on their performance,
broken down by race and ethnicity.
NCJIS is also proposing major changes in other safety
net programs that are ill-equipped to serve low-income
families. Among these are:
- The Unemployment Insurance system should be
reformed to allow more low-wage and part-time workers
to qualify and the number of weeks workers qualify to
receive benefits should be extended from 26 to 39.
- Improve the food stamp program by increasing
benefit levels, restoring benefits to immigrants and
tearing down barriers to access.
- Increase the minimum wage by $1.50.
"The progressive community looks to the next welfare
debate with a new advantage: grassroots political savvy.
In the last five years, grassroots groups throughout
America have won tremendous victories at the state and
local level on benefits, living wages, immigration,
health care, and many other issues," said Bhargava.
"It's one of the great untold stories of the last few
years, and the people behind it are prepared to add a
new national chapter."
###
Additional information available from The National
Campaign for Jobs and Income Support:
- From
Caseload Reduction to Poverty Reduction: A Fresh
Vision for TANF Reauthorization, a white paper
that takes a fresh look at the fabric of our social
safety net and makes the case for fundamental reform
to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
system.
- Leaving
Welfare, Left Behind, a report that shatters the
myth that welfare "leavers" are prospering.
|
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