On September 19, the House adopted, 280-123, a resolution (H. Res. 525) urging Congress to strengthen and extend the 1996 welfare reform law (P.L. 104-193).
Sponsored by Rep. Anne Northup (R-KY), the measure calls for the reauthorization of the welfare law and the President’s signature by September 30 when current welfare programs are set to expire. Two Republicans, Reps. Connie Morella (R-MD) and Ron Paul (R-TX), voted against the resolution.
Democrats accused the Republican leadership of wasting time on a meaningless resolution while real work needs to be done on appropriations bills. “We now have eight, count them, eight appropriations bills that have not been passed, with four days remaining,” said Rep. Janice Schakowsky (D-IL). “It is really quite amazing that the Republican leadership would squander its opportunity to make real progress on a legislative agenda, real progress on addressing the problems and concerns of the American people by taking up issues that are completely under their control.”
“I would remind the preceding speaker that the Senate has not acted on welfare reform,” responded Rep. Nancy Johnson (R-CT). “It is very disturbing that twelve days before this bill expires, before the welfare reform bill that has reduced poverty among children more dramatically than any change in public policy in my lifetime, that it could languish unauthorized,” she said. “The House has acted. The Senate has not,” she added.
On May 16, the House passed the Personal Responsibility, Work, and Family Promotion Act (H.R. 4737), which would extend welfare programs through FY2007 (see The Source, 5/17/02). Under that bill, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs would be reauthorized at $16.6 billion annually from FY2003 through FY2007 and the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) would receive $2.9 billion annually.
On June 26, the Senate Finance Committee approved legislation (H.R. 4737) that would authorize and extend the programs under TANF through FY2007 (see The Source, 6/28/02). Like the House bill, the Senate committee legislation would provide $16.5 billion annually through FY2007 for TANF.
Additionally, on September 4, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee approved the Access to High Quality Child Care Act, which would reauthorize the CCDBG at $3.1 billion in FY2003 and such sums as may be necessary in each of FY2004 through FY2007 (see The Source, 9/6/02). The child care bill is expected to be merged with the TANF legislation approved by the Finance Committee when the Senate considers welfare reform.
