|
US HOUSE PASSES HARMFUL
WELFARE BILL - ACTION GOES TO SENATE JUNE 3
On Thursday, May 16 the House of Representatives passed, by a vote of
229-197, H.R. 4737 to renew the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
(TANF) program and the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG)
for five years. The bill is closely modeled on the Presidents TANF/CCDBG
proposals and does not implement the changes recommended by the Justice
Center and many others in North Carolina and the Nation who have been
following welfare reform.
Narrow and Harsher Work Requirements
For one thing, the bill imposes harsh new work requirements on welfare
recipients. Recipients would have to work 40 hours per week rather than
the current 30. The types of work activities that would count toward
the state's federal participation rate is more narrowly defined. There
is an emphasis on families participating in subsidized employment and
a complete neglect of education, treatment or other training. Subsidized
employment is one of the most expensive activities a state/county can
offer and is not appropriate for all recipients.
In addition, 70% of the remaining Work First recipients would have to
be participating in a work activity. Now that North Carolina's cash
assistance rolls are down over 60% the majority of the people left on
the rolls have multiple problems that need to be addressed before they
can work 40 hours per week. Things like how and who will care for a
disabled family member or child they now care for, or high unemployment
in their county and few skills of their own. This combination of new
requirements would lead to drastic changes in North Carolina's Work
First program and still it is likely the state could not meet such narrowly
drawn, unreasonably high, unrealistic requirements.
Not Enough Money
The House bill also offers states no new TANF money with which to implement
expensive new subsidized employment programs. After tremendous pressure
from constituents, they did eventually add $1 billion in additional
funds for child care over the next five years. That means only another
$200 million per year for all fifty states and DC to share. NC could
use that much by itself.
Superwaiver and Other Executive Branch Authority to Waive Federal
Law - THIS AFFECTS LOTS OF PROGRAMS
Most egregious is a proposal to grant sweeping new authority to the
Executive Branch to waive, at a governor's request, most provisions
of law related to a range of low-income programs. This provision is
known as the "superwaiver". In addition, the bill includes
a provision which would allow five states to elect a food stamp block
grant in lieu of the regular food stamp program. A state's block grant
would be frozen at the level of funding that state received in fiscal
year 2002. These two provisions, could be even more harmful than the
above TANF changes.
This
superwaiver provision would allow federal government to wave statutory
and regulatory provisions related to:
| the
Food Stamp program |
| Child
Care and Development Block Grant |
|
public housing |
| the
Employment Service under the Wagner-Payser Act |
| most
job training programs under the Workforce Investment Act |
| TANF
block grant |
| Social
SErvices Block Grant |
| Adult
Education and FAmily Literacy Act |
| homelessness
programs under the McKinney-Vento Act |
and
a small program known as the Job Opportunities for Low-Income
Individuals Program.
|
Under
the superwaiver, all 50 states could ask for a food stamp block grant,
making it more dangerous than the limited food stamp block grant proposal.
And, the superwaiver has a damaging impact on a wide array of other
programs. For example if food stamps are block granted, it will mean
that no poor family or child will have a right to food stamp assistance
and states could ignore current program rules, both bad and good ones.
In that case, it would be a state's discretion who they serve with
food stamps and when money runs out they just put eligible people
on a waiting list. Congress is also notorious for cutting block grant
funds in subsequent years.
In addition, the White House is aggressively pushing the superwaiver
proposal, terming it one of their top priorities. They have made no
similar move to garner support for the five state food stamp block
grant proposal and we do not believe that they will insist on the
block grant in conference. Some Senators might oppose the block grant,
but believe it more acceptable to support the superwaiver. It is important
that they understand the dangers of both and oppose both.
On to
the Senate
This week the Senate has been on Memorial Day recess, but starting June
3 the Senate Finance committee will be taking up TANF Reauthorization.
It is expected to get to the floor of the Senate for a vote by the third
week of June. In an attempt to change the tenor of the debate Senator
Kennedy and 17 other Democratic senators sent a letter to Senators Baucus
and Grassley, the chairman and ranking Republican on the Finance Committee,
spelling out their key principles for welfare reauthorization. A copy
of the letter with signatures is attached as a PDF file. The following
senators signed the letter: Kennedy (MA), Wellstone (MN), Reed (RI),
Bingaman (NM), Dodd (CT), Clinton (NY), Murray (WA), Levin (MI), Leahy
(VT), Feingold (WI), Corzine (NJ), Wyden (OR), Boxer (CA), Akaka (HI),
Schumer (NY), Sarbanes (MD), Stabenow (MI), and Mikulski (MD). In addition,
Senator Durbin (IL) is sending a separate letter to the same effect.
For More Information
Full text of the House TANF bill and a summary are available at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:h.r.04737
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has revised its detailed analysis
of the superwaiver proposal to reflect recent changes to the proposal
and it can be found on their web site at: www.cbpp.org/5-13-02tanf.htm.
In addition, CBPP has a shorter piece on the impact of the superwaiver
proposal on food stamps: www.cbpp.org/5-13-02fs2.htm
and on the five state block grant: www.cbpp.org/5-13-02fs.htm.
|
|
NOW IS THE TIME TO CONTACT
SENATOR JOHN EDWARDS
Senators have been responding to the calls and emails of their constituents
during this debate. They may not be starting the debate where we would
like, but it will never move to where we want it to go unless they hear
from us about What North Carolina Needs.
Call or Email As Soon as You Can and Ask Your Friends, Relatives
and Colleagues to do the same:
Email Senator
John Edwards - you can email him directly at senator@edwards.senate.gov
or use the form on his web page at http://edwards.senate.gov/mailform.html
OR
Phone Senator John Edwards - In Washington D.C. (202) 224-3154 fax (202)
228-1374
Because of Jesse Helms' ill health and recent surgery he likely will
not be able to vote on this issue. If things change I will alert you
to contact him later.
Make your Message Clear and To the Point
|
1.
|
State
that you are a North Carolina constituent. |
|
2.
|
State
that you are calling about the Reauthorization of TANF and the Child
Care Fund. |
|
3.
|
State
your main points, here are some you could make: |
|
|
|
A.
|
The
Senate must pass a much different and better bill than the
House Reauthorization Proposal, HR 4737. |
|
B.
|
Congress must maintain authority over these and other programs
and the Senate should not pass a "superwaiver" provision
or allow states to block grant Food Stamps. |
|
C.
|
These
five changes are needed in TANF for North Carolina to be able
to continue to improve its welfare efforts and family outcomes: |
| |
|
i.
|
Increase
TANF and Child Care funding. Make the Supplemental TANF
grant permanent. |
|
ii.
|
Allow states flexibility to define allowable work activities
more broadly so that families can participate in education
and other activities that will help them get or keep
a job or move up in wages, get benefits, retrain for
new employment/industries or increase their job security. |
|
iii
|
Allow states to serve legal immigrants. Don't tie the
state's and local communities hands from using federal
TANF funds to meet the needs of their residents. |
|
iv.
|
Allow
states to turn on and off the federal time clock to
address economic downturn or devastation from hurricanes
AND allow states to exempt or extend benefits to families
meeting the requirements but needing more time. |
|
v.
|
Make
it an explicit goal of TANF to reduce poverty. Gradually
remove the caseload reduction credit and replace it
with a credit for helping clients retain jobs and progress
in wages. |
|
|
Also see
the attached letter (PDF,
112kb) for more ideas on what you might want to say to Senator Edwards.
|
|
STATE BUDGET UPDATE
The state is facing a huge budget deficit for the 2002-2003 budget year.
The legislature began session this Tuesday, May 28 to officially begin
crafting the 2002-03 budget. Legislators have been meeting since April,
however, hoping to bring the first version of the budget to the Senate
floor by next week. It appears that the Senate budget process has bogged
down and a bill won't go to committee for public debate until the week
of June 10 now.
In the meantime, many concerned individual and groups have begun to
urge that the legislature raise new revenues rather than making the
devastating cuts being considered. Currently, legislators are looking
to cut over $330 million from Health and Human Services programs alone.
To understand more about the budget crisis, cuts already made and the
revenue options available to legislators see the NC Budget and Tax Center's
report, "How North
Carolina Got into this Budget Deficit and How We Can Get Out."
The Governor released his budget proposal in mid-May, making over $430
million in cuts to programs, staff and services. He filled the rest
of the budget hole by implementing a lottery tax, transfers from the
Highway fund and Highway Trust Fund, transfer from the Tobacco Settlement
Trust Funds, deferment of middle class tax credits and suspension of
reimbursements to local government. To learn more see the NC Budget
and Tax Center report, "The Governor's
Proposed Budget: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back." A virus-free
version of the full report is attached to this email in Adobe
Acrobat format. On Tuesday, June 4 the report can be accessed on the
web at: http://www.ncjustice.org.
More information and alerts will be coming on this!
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND, NOW THAT I HAVE BROUGHT UP YOUR SPIRITS!
|
