Senate
Finance Committee Approves Bipartisan TANF Bill
March 11, 2005
On Wednesday, March 9, 2005 , the Senate Finance Committee
approved the Personal Responsibility and Individual Development
for Everyone (PRIDE) Act by voice vote. The PRIDE Act would
reauthorize the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) through fiscal year 2010. PRWORA
replaced the entitlement under AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent
Children) with the TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families)
block grant.
Further Action
The bill is not expected to be debated on the Senate floor
until sometime after the spring congressional recess (March
21 - April 1). Therefore Congress will need to pass another
TANF extension; the current extension expires March 31.
In the House, the Human Resources Subcommittee of the Ways
and Means Committee may mark up its version of the PRWORA reauthorization
bill, the Personal Responsibility, Work, and Family Promotion
Act, as early as next week.
A Love Fest
Unlike the Finance Committee mark-up last year, when the bill
was voted out of Committee on a strict party-line vote (all
Republicans voted "yes" and all Democrats voted "no"),
this year bipartisan cooperation was the order of the day.
The only "no" vote on the bill came from Senator
Trent Lott (R-MS), who opposed the amount of child care funding
in the bill and the number of activities that states can count
as work. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) also opposed the increased
child care funding saying that "the child care issue is
a Washington-based issue. It is not an issue out in the states," but
he did not vote against the bill. Speaking in support of the
child care funding was its lead sponsor, Senator Olympia Snowe
(R-ME) and Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR),
and Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA). Other Committee members
present for the mark-up were Ranking Member Max Baucus (D-MT),
Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Gordon Smith (R-OR), Craig Thomas (R-WY),
and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
Major Victory-Disabilities
One of the major victories in the mark-up was on one of NASW's
top priorities--improving services to TANF recipients with
disabilities, such as mental health disorders, substance abuse
problems, and physical disabilities. Due to the association's
advocacy, along with its many coalition partners, the Committee
approved a provision that would give states the option of continuing
to count recipients who are engaged in rehabilitation services
in their participation rates for longer than six months as
long as the individuals are engaged in direct work activities
for at least half the time required for non-disabled participants.
NASW's advocacy also was critical in gaining support for other
provisions in the bill designed to assist TANF recipients with
disabilities. Three additional provisions were incorporated
into the bill late last year. Those provisions include:
(1) Extending from three to six months the time rehabilitation
services can count as work, as long as some level of direct
work activity is included in the second three months;
(2) Allowing states to count caring for a child or other adult
family member with a disability as work; and
(3) Requiring states to at least make an attempt to contact
the family prior to imposing a sanction. Studies have shown
that families with disabled members are often inappropriately
sanctioned.
The disability provisions were championed by Senators Smith
(R-OR) and Jim Jeffords (I-VT), with assistance from many others,
including Senators Kent Conrad (D-SD), Lincoln Chafee (R-RI),
Susan Collins (R-ME), Jay Rockefeller (D-WV).
Another Victory-SSBG
Another victory on one of NASW's funding priorities is a $1
billion increase (over five years) in the bill for the Social
Services Block Grant (Title XX). SSBG is currently funded at
$1.7 billion. The funding increase was at the request of Sen.
Santorum.
Other Positive Provisions
- Education and Training. Vocational education
count can as work for up to 12 months. In addition, the
Parents as Scholars program sponsored by Senator Snowe, would
allow states to count up to 10 percent of their TANF caseload
engaged in postsecondary education as being engaged in work.
- Child Care Funding. The child care funding
in the bill includes $6 billion more than current law over
five years. The bill pays for some of the child care increase
with modifications to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
and Child Tax Credit. Although some of the changes close
loopholes allowing people with higher incomes to claim these
credits, one controversial change would bar certain low-income
families with one or more family members who are immigrants
from claiming the EITC.
- Additional grants to states: The bill
includes $200 million over five years for capitalizing and
developing social services programs that serve TANF recipients;
$125 million for grants for low-income car ownership; $1
billion for transitional jobs and business links programs
for job development; and $5 million for a national teen pregnancy
prevention resource center.
- Child support improvements: Provisions
allow more child support dollars to go directly to families
rather than being retained by government and provide additional
enforcement tools for collecting child support.
- Transitional Medical Assistance: Families
leaving TANF would be eligible for Medicaid for an additional
12 months with a state option to continue coverage for
a second 12 months.
- Tribal TANF: The bill would increase
financial support to tribes operating their own TANF programs.
Not So Positive Provisions
- Increased Work Hours. Parents with children
older than age six would be required to work 34 hours per
week (up from the current 30 hours) and parents with children
younger than six would be required to work 24 hours (up from
20 hours). States would receive partial credit for adults
working fewer hours and extra credit for those working more
than 34 hours. (Under current law, states either receive
full credit or no credit.)
- Increased Work Participation Rates. The
work participation rate would increase gradually to 70
percent (from the current 50 percent). The rate could be
reduced by a new employment credit; that is, states could
get credit when adults in families leaving TANF find work;
the state would get extra credit when the jobs pay above
a certain minimum. Current law gives states credit for caseload
reduction, whether or not employment is achieved. States
that fail to meet the work participation rates will not incur
financial penalties if they show a five percentage point
improvement in work rates.
- Marriage Promotion Funding. The bill
includes $1 billion over five years for marriage promotion--$500
million for matching grants to states and $500 million for
research and demonstration projects related to marriage.
Certain domestic violence and privacy protections also are
included.
- Responsible Fatherhood. The bill includes
$100 million over five years in mandatory funding for state
demonstration projects on responsible fatherhood and $150
million over five years for national demonstration projects.
Possible Floor Amendments
A number of amendments are expected to be offered on the floor
as PRIDE moves forward, including the following--all of which
NASW supports:
(1) To extend the amount of time that education and training
can count as work from 12 months to 24 months--Sen. Jeffords
(2) To identify a way other than changing eligibility for
the EITC to pay for the child care increase--Sen. Bingaman
(3) To allow states to continue operating their TANF programs
under waiver authority and to allow other states to submit
new waiver requests--Sens. Bingaman and Wyden
(4) To clarify that state and local governments are allowed
to use their own funds to provide health services to immigrants--Sen.
Bingaman
(5) To expand the activities that can be included in abstinence
only programs--Sen. Baucus.
(6) To incorporate the Immigrant Children's Health Improvement
Act (ICHIA) in PRIDE, giving states the option to cover eligible
legal immigrant pregnant women and children under Medicaid
and SCHIP--Sen. Baucus and others
ACTION ALERTS will be sent as warranted,
but please feel free to express your thanks to your Senators
for their actions thus far. Senators Smith ( Oregon ), Jeffords
( Vermont ), and Snowe ( Maine ) should be on the top of the
list.
AS ALWAYS, THANKS FOR YOUR ADVOCACY!
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