On September 8, the House approved, by voice vote, a bill (H.R. 3672) to extend the 1996 welfare reform law (P.L. 104-193) through December 31, 2005. The measure also would provide additional funding under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program for the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, and would reimburse states for TANF benefits provided to families who relocated to those states as a result of Hurricane Katrina.
The Senate Finance Committee approved a welfare reauthorization bill (S. 667) on March 9 (see The Source, 3/11/05). The House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources approved its version of the measure (H.R. 240) on March 15. Since its expiration in September 2002, Congress has approved eleven extensions of the 1996 law. The most recent extension will expire on September 30.
Highlighting the 1996 welfare reform law, Rep. Nancy Johnson (R-CT) stated, “TANF has reduced poverty among minority children in America more than any program ever adopted by Congress. It has been an enormous success in helping families get into the workforce, raise their incomes, and reduce the poverty level among children in our country. So now to open TANF for those families devastated by this natural disaster is extremely important, because these are families now, like so many of our own children, living paycheck to paycheck, who have no paycheck and no assets.” She added, “This is exactly what we need right now. We cannot see the whole problem yet; and it would be irresponsible to do anything but use the resources already at our disposal, resources that are experienced, savvy, and directly meet the needs for both cash assistance and the opportunity for these families to rebuild their lives.”
Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) agreed, but expressed her concern that the bill “leaves so very much undone.” She stated, “We need to give States immediate access to funds, funds that they otherwise would not have received until October 1. We need to provide emergency funds for Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama; and we need to reimburse other States for emergency cash assistance that they are providing for evacuees. This bill does those things. But there are many things it does not do. For example, it does not address the pressing needs of children in foster care, the unemployed and parents who need child care, and it does not address child care needs that are even more critical than ever for parents of young children, parents who are trying to find jobs…I will support this bill, but I am concerned that we are responding to Katrina with this bill, and others, both literally and figuratively, by helping the victims bail out the water, but not fixing the holes in the infrastructure that lets the water in. We need to do both.”
