TANF Reauthorization: Delayed Once Again, April 2, 2004
April 2, 2004
This week, Congress got a bit closer to reauthorizing the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation (PRWORA) Act, but final resolution appears as elusive as ever.
The Senate began debate on its version of reauthorization, the Personal Responsibility and Individual Development for Everyone (PRIDE) Act (H.R. 4) on March 29. As previously agreed to, the first amendment to be offered and voted on, was one to increase child care funding by $6 billion. The amendment, sponsored by Sens. Snowe (R-ME) and Dodd (D-CT), passed overwhelmingly 78 to 20, garnering support from majorities of both Democrats and Republicans.
Following the child care vote on March 30, progress came to a grinding halt. Republicans and Democrats could not agree on limiting debate or the number of amendments and Democrats insisted on having votes on increasing the minimum wage, extending unemployment benefits, and overturning the new overtime rules. Majority Leader Frist (R-TN) attempted to invoke cloture to end debate on what the majority termed "non-germane" issues, but the cloture vote failed on a nearly party-line vote of 51 to 47 (60 votes are needed to invoke cloture). Unable to stop debate, the Senate made plans to move on to other business. TANF is not on the Senate schedule for next week and the Senate is not in session the week of April 12. It is possible that negotiations on how to move forward will continue, but the longer an agreement remains elusive, the less likely it is that TANF reauthorization will be completed this year.
Another Extension
Due to the Senate delays, Congress once again passed a short-term extension of current law. The last extension expired on March 31; the new extension runs through June 2004. Absent further Senate action, additional "clean" extensions may be problematic. Prior to the latest extension, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources, Rep. Herger (R-CA), introduced two extension bills that included major policy changes--one increased participation rates (H.R. 3848) and the other authorized marriage promotion activities (H.R. 3897). Speculation is that, frustrated by lack of action in the Senate, Herger and his House colleagues might attempt to hold continued TANF funding hostage to certain policy changes. The House passed its reauthorization bill, the Personal Responsibility, Work, and Family Promotion Act (H.R. 4) back in February 2003.
NASW ACTION
NASW has focused its recent work on the TANF reauthorization on two issues identified as association priorities--improving services to families with disabilities and other barriers to employment and reducing disparate treatment of racial and ethnic minorities--and has been making good progress.
NASW, along with other members of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) TANF Task Force, has been working to gain support for extending the time participation in “rehabilitative services” can count as work. The effort, spearheaded by Senators Smith (R-OR) and Jeffords (I-VT), recently picked up support from Senators Collins (R-ME), Chafee (R-RI), and Rockefeller (D-WV). Earlier advocacy resulted in the Senate Finance Committee approving an increase in the amount of time rehabilitation services can count as work from three months to six months. The current effort would permit states to count rehabilitation services beyond six months, increasing the likelihood that states would serve this population and that these families would get the help they need.
On the fair and equitable treatment issue, NASW has been working with members of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR) Welfare Task Force. Senator Feingold (D-WI) is the primary Senate sponsor of a number of provisions to reduce racial and ethnic discrimination. Those provision include requiring states to document their procedures for ensuring equitable treatment and for reporting civil rights complaints and requiring the U.S. Department of Human Services to improve the collection and availability of TANF data on race and ethnicity.
Despite the uncertainty of moving forward, negotiations are continuing to get both sets of provisions into the “Chairman's mark,” which is a package of changes generally acceptable to both Republicans and Democrats. If the provisions are not accepted into the Chairman's mark, they would be offered as amendments on the Senate floor.
In addition, NASW has continued its support for increasing access to education and restoring benefit eligibility for immigrants and continued its opposition to the superwaiver provision, increased work hours, full-family sanctions, and funding for marriage promotion activities.
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