Reauthorization of TANF and Related Programs:
An NCC Issues and Actions Guide for Advocates

Earlier Action Alerts

In 2005 ...

• February 8, 2005, Action Alert: House Hearings Scheduled on TANF Reauthorization
• February 1, 2005, Update: Two TANF-Related Bills Introduced in U.S. Senate
• January 11, 2005, Update: New TANF Legislation Threatens 'Safety Net'

In 2004 ...

• October 1, 2004: Congress Gives TANF a "Clean" Extension Through March 2005

  Many thanks to all of you who contacted your Senators.  On September 30, 2004, both the House and the Senate passed clean extensions of the current TANF program through March 2005.  This means that we now have some time to build support for a five-year reauthorization of the program in the new Congress, including the changes advocated by the faith community.  The measure passed by the House last year (HR 4) will die with the adjournment of the current Congress, as will the measure reported by the Senate Finance Committee.

• September 29, 2004, Action Alert: Call Your Senators Immediately!

Please call your Senators immediately and urge them to support a "clean" extension of TANF and reject all efforts to amend the program in a piecemeal fashion. They should vote before the end of September 30. You can find your Senators' phone numbers on their websites at http://www.senate.gov  The current extension of TANF ends September 30, so Congress has to take some sort of action very quickly.

The House extension proposal calls for a "clean" extension (n amendments to the current program) for six months, through March 31, 2005. The assumption is that this extension will allow time for a new Congress to consider legislation for a full five-year reauthorization when it convenes in January.

In the Senate, Senators Santorum (R-PA) and Bayh (D-IN) have introduced a six-month extension plan that calls for $300 million in marriage promotion funds to be added to the program but does not deal with any of the changes supported by the faith groups.

The faith community has sent a letter to the Senate urging them to pass a "clean" extension, making no changes in the current program unless they are willing to address also the issues of child care, job training, and child well-being, among others.

• September 7, 2004, Update: Talking Points on TANF for this Election Season
• July 14, 2004, Update: Advocates Ask Congress to Complete Action on TANF
• June 23, 2004, Update: TANF Funding Extended Through September 30; News of a New Study
• April 26, 2004, Action Alert: Send Mothers' Day Cards to Your Senators!
• April 6, 2004, TANF Update: Contact Your Senator During Spring Recess
• April 7, 2004, NCC News Release: As Senate Debates, Faith Community Persists Despite Years of Delays and Frustrations in Struggle for Welfare Policy that Lifts Families Out of Poverty
• March 30 Update -- Senate Begins Vote on TANF Reauthorization
• Action Alert -- TANF Set for Vote Week of March 29; Call Your Senator Now (Toll Free through Friday, April 2)
• March 8, 2004 Update: House, Senate Finance Committee Actions on TANF may be Imminent
• February 17, 2004: Senate to Vote Soon on TANF Reauthorization

In 2003 ...

• October 10, 2003, Alert: House, Senate Extend Current TANF Program; Advocacy Is As Important As Ever
• September 21, 2003, Alert on Upcoming Senate Vote on TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families)
• August 8, 2003, TANF Action Alert: Contact Senators in Their Home Offices Before September 2
• July 23, 2003, ActionAlert: Contacts Needed Re. TANF with U.S. Senators
• June 27, 2003, Action Alert: Contacts Needed Re. TANF with Senate Finance Committee
• May 5, 2003, Status of Child Care Legislation
• March 20, 2003, Update/Action Alert -- Senate Finance Committee Action on Reauthorization of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)
• February 19, 2003, Update/Action Alert -- U.S. House Approves H.R. 4, Defeating Democratic Alternative Proposal for TANF Reauthorization
• February 13, 2003, Update/Action Alert -- U.S. House Approves H.R. 4, Defeating Democratic Alternative Proposal for TANF Reauthorization
• February 5, 2003, Update on TANF Reauthorization in the House -- and ACTION URGENTLY NEEDED
• Bush Administration's Jan. 14, 2003, Proposal on TANF Reauthorization
• January 10, 2003, Action Alert on TANF Legislation

In 2002 ...

• November 16, 2002, Update on TANF Legislation
• October 30, 2002, Action Alert on TANF Legislation
• October 3, 2002, Action Alert on TANF Legislation
• Pre-Labor Day Alert on TANF Legislation and Contacts with Members of Congress
• June 24, 2002, Action Alert Update: Senate Committee to Begin Voting on TANF June 26
• June 22, 2002, Action Alert Update: Senate Committee to Mark Up Welfare Bill June 25-26
• June 13, 2002, Action Alert: Upcoming U.S. Senate Finance Committee Action on Temporary Assistance to Needy Families
• Action Alert Update: House Acts May 16 on Welfare Reauthorization; Senate is Next!
• Action Alert: Reauthorization of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families

Get Informed!

Written Resources

• Web-Based Resources for Advocacy on the Reauthorization of TANF

October 2002:

• U.S. Poverty Increases from 2000-2001, Census Bureau Reports

September 2002:

• Letter hand-delivered to Senate offices on September 4 by members of the Interreligious Working Group on Domestic Human Needs

August 2002:

• Pre-Labor Day Alert on TANF Legislation and Contacts with Members of Congress
• "One Step Forward or Two Steps Back? Why the Bipartisan Senate Finance Bill Reflects a Better Approach to TANF Reauthorization than the House Bill" -- a new TANF analysis available on the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Web site.
• Other Papers on Various Aspects of TANF Reauthorization from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
• Studies on Welfare Reform from the National Center on Childen in Poverty.

July 2002:

• Report on Recent Changes in Welfare Enrollment, released by the National Conference of State Legislators
• July 12, 2002, Update of the Situation in Congress Regarding Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)

June 2002:

• June 4, 2002, "TANF Reauthorization Side-by-Side: Senate"
• June 13, 2002, Analysis of the Current Situation in Congress Regarding Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)

May 2002 TANF Issues Papers:

• Work Requirements
• Education and Job Training
• Child Care Funding and Quality

April 2002:

• The Republican Proposal for TANF Reauthorization - An Analysis (April 2002)
• Testimony on Welfare Reform Reauthorization Before the Committee on Ways and Means, Subcommittee on Human Resources, U.S. House of Representatives (April 11, 2002)
• 4/18/02: House Ways and Means Subcommittees Mark Up Welfare Legislation

March 2002:

• News and Documentation from March 13-15, 2002, "TANF Action Days in Washington, D.C."
• "A Call to Poverty Reduction in the Context of Reauthorization of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families" (with endorsements as of 3/21/02)
• Comparison of Religious Community Policy and Bush Administration Proposal for Reauthorizing Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (March 2002)

2001:

• NCC Resolution on the Reauthorization of TANF and Related Programs (11/2001)

• Report on the NCC 2/2001 Consultation on the Reauthorization of TANF and Related Programs
• NCC Religious Community Survey on Reauthorization of TANF and Related Programs (released 2/2001)
• Analysis of TANF Reauthorization Issues
• "Key Issues in Welfare Reauthorization: Six Papers" from the Center on Budget & Policy Priorities and the Center for Law and Social Policy

• Book "Washington's New Poor Law" Chronicles 66 Years of Welfare "Reform" Legislation

Audio Conferences

• Ongoing: Center for Law and Social Policy Audio Conferences: "Making Welfare Work"
• Archived: NCC/UUSC "Up from Poverty" 2001-2002 Audio Conferences Address Needs of America's Forgotten Families