On July 9, 1998 by a vote of 56-42, the Senate passed an amendment sponsored by Senator Paul Wellstone (D-MN) that would increase access to postsecondary education for welfare recipients. The amendment would change provisions in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (P.L. 104-193) that restrict the definition of work activity to 12 months of vocational training and permit only 30 percent of a state's work participation rate to be comprised of recipients engaged in education or training, including teenagers without high school diplomas who are required to be in school.

The Wellstone amendment would permit states to add postsecondary education as a countable work activity, increase the 12-month restriction to 24 months for both postsecondary and vocational education, and remove teenagers from the 30 percent limit. The changes would give more people more time to enhance their chances in the job market. The amendment was passed as part of the Senate’s version of the Higher Education Act reauthorization bill (S. 1882). As is customary, the Senate inserted the text of its bill into the version passed by the House in May (H.R. 6). Therefore, the bill will now be referred to as H.R. 6.

Thanks to all who had a part in this victory. Of the 22 Senators targeted for contact in the latest Government Relations Alert, 12, including nine Republicans, voted for the amendment. In addition, a list of organizations which supported the amendment, including NASW, was inserted into the Congressional Record.

If your Senator(s) voted for the Wellstone amendment, thank them. A listing of the vote follows.

By Telephone. All Senators can be reached through the Capitol Switchboard, (202) 224-3121. Direct line numbers, fax numbers and e-mail addresses can be accessed via NASW’s website: www.socialworkers.org.

By Mail. Address: The Honorable (first name, last name), United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510.

Senate passage of the Wellstone amendment is an important first step toward enactment, but there is more work to be done. The House passed its version of the Higher Education Act reauthorization bill in May 1998 without any provision to increase access to postsecondary education for welfare recipients.

The next step will be to convince members of a House-Senate conference committee charged with reconciling the differences between the two version of the bill (H.R. 6) to include the Wellstone amendment in the final compromise. That compromise version must then go back to the House and Senate floors for a final vote before being sent to the President. The President has indicated his opposition to some financial provisions in the bill, but has stopped short of threatening a veto.

Conferees have not yet been named, but will include many members of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee and the House Education and Workforce Committee. Those rosters follow.

If your Senator(s) and/or Representative is a member of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee and/or the House Education and Workforce Committee, urge them to support inclusion of the Wellstone amendment in the House-Senate conference committee version of the Higher Education Act reauthorization bill.

• Surface mail address for all Senators: The Honorable (first name, last name), United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510.
• For all Representatives: The Honorable (first name, last name), U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515.
• Fax numbers and e-mail addresses can be accessed via NASW’s website: www.socialworkers.org. Sample letter below (Feel free to modify as you see fit).

By Telephone.

• All Members of Congress can be reached through the Capitol switchboard.
• Senate: 202-224-3121; House: 202-225-3121.
• Direct line numbers can be accessed via NASW’s website: www.socialworkers.org.
• When you call, ask to speak to the staff person handling welfare issues. If staff is unavailable, leave a message on voice mail or with the receptionist. Sample verbal message below (feel free to modify as you see fit).

By District Visit. If the conference committee fails to complete its work in July, many Senators and Representatives will spend time in their home states and districts during the August congressional recess.

• The Senate is scheduled to be in recess August 1-September 7; the House recess is scheduled for August 10-September 8.
• Call your Member’s district or Washington office to schedule meetings (ask for the scheduler) or attend open forums in which you can ask for support for the Wellstone amendment.

Date                                                                        Date
The Honorable (first name, last name) OR               The Honorable (first name, last name)
United States Senate                                                U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20510                                                Washington, DC 20515

Dear Senator (last name):                                       Dear Representative (last name):

As a professional social worker (or On behalf of the (number) members of the (state) Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers), I urge you to support including Senator Wellstone's amendment to increase access to postsecondary and vocational education for welfare recipients in the final compromise version of the bill reauthorizing the Higher Education Act (H.R. 6).

Since the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, community colleges, universities and adult education programs have seen dramatic declines in enrollment among welfare recipients. This consequence of the new law means that thousands of families will have fewer opportunities for long-term employment, escaping poverty and becoming self-sufficient.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 53 percent of women receiving welfare already are high school graduates or have earned GEDs. Research shows that women who go on to earn a college degree will spend less time on welfare and are far less likely to need support again. That spells significant savings for state budgets and a dramatic positive impact on the quality of life for women and their families.

Senator Wellstone’s amendment, included in the Senate version of the Higher Education Act reauthorization bill, is an important step in moving welfare recipients not just off of welfare temporarily, but permanently. It deserves to be included in the final version of the bill.

Sincerely,

I am a professional social worker (or On behalf of the (number) members of the (state) Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, I), and am calling to urge Senator/Representative (last name) to support including Senator Wellstone's amendment to increase access to postsecondary education for welfare recipients in the final compromise version of the bill reauthorizing the Higher Education Act (H.R. 6). Research shows that women who earn a college degree will spend less time on welfare and are far less likely to need support again. That spells significant savings for state budgets and a dramatic positive impact on the quality of life for women and their families. The Wellstone amendment deserves to be included in the final version of the bill.

Postsecondary education allows welfare recipients to pursue careers beyond the low wage, short-term jobs usually available to them.

• Without an education, most women who leave welfare for work will earn wages far below the federal poverty line, even after five years of working (Weisbrot, 1997).
• Nationally, the economy is projected to create only half as many new low skill jobs as there are welfare recipients targeted to enter the labor market (Weisbrot, 1997).
• At least half of all new jobs by the year 2000 will require a college-educated workforce (Kates, 1993).

Postsecondary education is a cost-effective strategy for permanently moving welfare recipients from welfare to work at a decent wage.

• The average person who attended a two year college earned about 10 percent more than those without any college education, even without completing an associate’s degree (Kane & Rouse, 1985).
• African American women holding bachelor’s degrees earn $2,000 a month, compared to $1,200 for those with only some college education (Gittell, Vandersall, Holdaway, and Newman, 1996).
• Among families headed by African American women, the poverty rate for heads of households with at least one year of postsecondary education is 21 percent, compared to 51 percent for those with only a high school education (Gittell, Vandersall, Holdaway, and Newman, 1996).
• Among families headed by Latinas, the poverty rate drops from 41 percent to 19 percent with at least one year of postsecondary education (Census Population Survey, as cited in Sherman, 1990).
• For white women, the poverty rate drops from 22 percent to 13 percent with at least one year of postsecondary education (Census Population Survey, as cited in Sherman, 1990).
• On average, women with a college degree earn an additional $3.65 an hour (1997 dollars) over the wages of women with only a high school diploma (Spalter-Roth and Hartmann, as cited in Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 1998).

Postsecondary education breaks the cycle of poverty for women and their children.

• Benefits extend to the children of educated parents, as they are more likely to take education seriously and aspire to go to college themselves (Gittell, Gross, and Holdaway, 1993).
• There is a strong association between parental income and the income of their children in future years (Gittell, Gross, and Holdaway, 1993).
• Women report an overall improvement in the quality of their lives and in their relationships with their children. Women reported that their confidence had increased and that they had become better parents (Gittell, Schehl, & Fareri, 1990).

Since the passage of the 1996 welfare law, community colleges, universities and adult education programs have seen dramatic declines in enrollment among welfare recipients.

• Some reports suggest that these drops are primarily due to difficulties that welfare recipients experience in juggling jobs and community service or workfare assignments, in addition to family, school and financial responsibilities (Valbrun, 1998; Schmidt, 1998).
• Baltimore City Community College reported a 29 percent drop in enrollment of welfare recipients from Fall 1996 to Fall 1997.
• City University of New York welfare recipient enrollment decreased from about 27,000 to 17,000 over the last three years.
• From 1994-1997, there was a 47 percent total decline in enrollment among welfare recipients in Massachusetts’ community colleges.