Washington Roundup

May 17, 2002

Contact: Jenny Collier and Tom Leibfried

Legal Action Center

202-544-5478

                                                               

House Passes TANF (Welfare) Reauthorization Bill after Partisan Debate; Senate Finance Committee Bill Not Yet Introduced

This week, after two days of partisan debate, the House of Representatives passed a Republican- sponsored bill that would reauthorize the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF/welfare) program.  The bill passed by a vote of 229 to 197, with fourteen Democrats voting for the bill and four Republicans voting against it.

Like the Administration’s TANF reauthorization proposal, the House-passed bill would:

•                      Reauthorize the TANF Block Grant through Fiscal Year 2007 at the current level of funding of $16.5 billion per year.

•                      Count drug treatment as a work activity for up to 3 consecutive months of any 24 months of receipt of TANF benefits. 

•                      Require 40 hours of work per week for most TANF recipients, and permit individuals to spend as much as 16 of their 40 hours of work per week engaged in other types of activities, with states determining eligible activities.  A state could include drug and alcohol treatment in this category of “other” activities.

Before final passage of the Republican legislation, the House also considered a Democratic-sponsored bill that failed on a vote of 222 to 198.  This alternative legislation would have provided significantly more funding for child care, increased TANF Block Grant funding to keep up with the rate of inflation, restored welfare benefits to legal immigrants who have not become citizens, and given states more flexibility to count vocational education as work.

The Senate Finance Committee has not yet introduced TANF reauthorization legislation for its consideration.  At this time, it is expected that the Committee will review legislation upon its return from the Memorial Day recess in early June.  However, several members of the Senate Finance Committee have introduced a bi-partisan TANF reauthorization plan that differs from the House-passed bill in that it would:

•                      Require only 30 hours of work activities for TANF recipients, with 24 of those hours in direct work.

•                      Permit up to two years of vocational education to count as work.

•                      Provide additional funding for child care.

•                      Count full-time drug and alcohol treatment as a work activity for 3 months, and then count it as work for an additional 3 months if it is necessary and combined with work preparation activities.