Government Relations Action Alert

 Contacts Needed With Senators on Welfare Reauthorization

April 7, 2003

THE ISSUE AT HAND

Members of the Senate Finance Committee are currently in the process of crafting legislation to reauthorize the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act.  While the Senate bill is expected to be more moderate than the bill (H.R. 4) passed by the House in February (see Update at  https://www.socialworkers.org/advocacy/updates/021403_house.asp, strong advocacy is needed to convince Senators to pass a bill that will truly assist poor families in moving toward greater independence and out of poverty.    

NASW opposed the House-passed bill and has been working to ensure a better outcome in the Senate.  We are supporting increased access to education and training, including higher education; more funding for child care and transitional jobs; and restoration of benefits to immigrants, while opposing funding for marriage promotion and abstinence education.  However, NASW is focusing the majority of its advocacy on three additional issues that are equally important to the social work profession and family well-being, but which are receiving less attention from Members of Congress and other organizations.  We need your help in raising the volume on these issues, which include:   

(1) Ensuring that TANF program rules accommodate the needs of parents with disabilities and parents caring for children or other family members with disabilities

(2) Ensuring fair and equitable treatment of racial and ethnic minorities under TANF

(3) Ensuring a qualified, stable, and professional TANF workforce

For additional information on these issues, please see the testimony submitted by NASW for the Senate Finance Committee’s one and only Washington hearing on “Welfare Reform: Building on Success,” held on March 12, 2003: https://www.socialworkers.org/advocacy/welfare/legislation/ltr_032603.asp. 

ACTION NEEDED

While contacts with all U.S. Senators are essential, contacts with Senators on the Finance Committee, who are drafting the bill, are the most critical.  Committee Members, listed by state, follow. 

SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE

SAMPLE MESSAGE

A sample letter has been posted on NASW's Congress Web to email or fax to your Senators.  

TIMING

The Committee hopes to complete work on a draft bill before the end of April, and to approve it sometime in May, prior to the Memorial Day recess.  The bill could go to the Senate floor shortly thereafter.  Therefore, to be the most effective, letters should be sent as soon as possible.    

TAKE ACTION NOW!

THANKS FOR YOUR ADVOCACY!