Washington Roundup

May 24, 2002

Contact: Jenny Collier and Tom Leibfried

Legal Action Center

202-544-5478

                                                               

Senate Debate on TANF Reauthorization Heats Up: Eighteen Democrats, Led By Senators Kennedy and Wellstone, Outline Principles for Reauthorization

This week, eighteen Democratic Senators, led by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Senator Paul Wellstone (D-MN), a member of the HELP Committee, outlined principles for TANF reauthorization in a letter to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Ranking Member Charles Grassley (R-IA). 

These principles included:

•                      Increasing TANF Block Grant funding.

•                      Requiring a 30 hour work week for TANF recipients with children ages six and older.

•                      Counting alcohol and drug treatment as work.

•                      Counting training and education as work.

•                      Reauthorizing Transitional Medicaid for 5 years and making it available to families moving from welfare to work.

•                      Rejecting passage of a superwaiver authority that would permit federal and state executive branch agencies to override various legal, eligibility and funding requirements for a range of federal low income and social services programs.

The Senate Finance Committee has not yet introduced TANF reauthorization legislation for its consideration.  The Committee is scheduled to review legislation upon its return from the Memorial Day recess, perhaps as early as the week of June 10th.  However, it is unclear how the principles released by Senators Kennedy and Wellstone will affect the legislative process.  It is possible that the multiple proposals already introduced in the Senate will produce a robust debate, resulting in a Senate bill that differs significantly from the House-passed bill and the Administration’s proposal.  Such a process could make it difficult for Congress to pass comprehensive reauthorization legislation in an election year in which there are other legislative and budgetary priorities requiring attention.

Members of House of Representatives Team with Advocates to Push for Repeal of Financial Aid Ban for Students with Drug Convictions

This week, Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) led members of Congress, advocates, and students in a press conference on Capitol Hill to gather support for his legislation, H.R. 786, to repeal the provision of the Higher Education Act (HEA) which denies access to student loans to individuals with drug convictions.  While Congress originally intended the provision to apply to students who were in college when the drug offense occurred, the law currently denies assistance to applicants who have drug convictions prior to entering college.  According to the Coalition for Higher Education Act Reform (CHEAR), more than 75,000 applicants have been denied financial aid as a result of drug convictions since the passage of the Act in 1998. 

Joining Congressman Frank in the push for repeal of the HEA drug provision were several members of the House of Representatives, including Representatives Patsy Mink (D-HI), Robert Andrews (D-NJ), Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Bobby Rush (D-IL), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Danny Davis (D-IL), and Julia Carson (D-IN).  Additionally, several national organizations offered their support, including the United States Student Association, Students for Sensible Drug Policy, the NAACP, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, and the Legal Action Center.

The speakers emphasized several themes, including:

•             The need to provide fair access to educational opportunities for students of all economic means.

•             The injustice in denying financial aid because of a previous drug conviction that is no longer relevant to a student’s current character or ability to do the work.

•             The disproportionate impact of financial aid denials on racial minorities due to racial disparities in the prosecution of drug offenses. 

H.R. 786 has been referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. Representatives Mark Souder (R-IN) and Gregory Meeks (D-NY) have introduced compromise legislation on this issue, H.R. 3777, that would restrict the student loan disqualification to students who commit drug offenses while receiving financial aid.  This bill also has been referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.  At this time it is unclear how these bills will move through Congress this session.