House Ways & Means Subcommittees Mark Up Welfare Legislation

On April 18, 2002, two subcommittees of the House Ways and Means Committee marked up legislative proposals that will eventually be combined into a single bill for the purpose of reauthorizing Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), the nation’s welfare program. The voting was strictly along party lines, with all Republicans supporting the legislation and all Democrats opposed.

By the end of April the full Ways and Means Committee will have joined the two bills into one, in order to send the legislation to the House floor, where a vote is expected before the Memorial Day recess. The Senate is expected to complete committee action by the end of May and have its floor debate in June, after the House takes action.

The legislation approved April 18 at the subcommittee level would implement the plan proposed a few weeks earlier by President Bush. It falls far short of the principles for welfare reform endorsed by the religious community in its Call to Poverty Reduction in the Context of Reauthorization of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). Every effort to amend the legislation to make its provisions less damaging to low-income people was beaten back by party line votes.

Among the harshest provisions of the bill are the following:

· Funding for the TANF program is held level at the 1994 level, despite the fact that benefits paid at this level have lost 13% of their purchasing power in the last six years.

· States will be required to have 70% of the adults in their TANF families working for 40 hours per week. Current law requires that 50% work for at least 30 hours. Many work-related activities that count as work under current law were eliminated by the subcommittee, including vocational training and job search.

· Even mothers of very young children will be required to work 40 hours a week, ending a provision in current law that allows those with children under age 6 to work only 20 hours. No additional funding is provided for child care, despite the increased work requirement.

· Benefits will be cut off for entire families (not just the offending adult, as under current law) for any violation of work requirements (regardless of the reason), such as missing work or failing to meet at the required time with a counselor.

The bill would divert $300 million annually from other TANF purposes (including child support) for programs to encourage and support marriage and promote responsible fatherhood by non-custodial parents (including job training). The religious community has advocated providing new funds for such programs, rather than taking resources from the basic TANF budget.

Among the amendments rejected along partisan lines were two proposals supported by the religious community - making poverty reduction a purpose of the legislation and increasing federal aid for child care.

The full Ways and Means Committee is unlikely to make significant changes in the subcommittee bill. There will be attempts to amend the legislation on the House floor; but most advocates are turning now to the Senate as a possible venue for improvement in this draconian legislation.

Posted on NCC Web Site 4/22/02