On June 27, the Senate approved, by voice vote, legislation (H.R. 2350) that would extend through September 30 major programs of the 1996 welfare reform law. The House approved the measure on June 11 (see The Source, 6/13/03).
H.R. 2350 was approved without debate, but it had been held up in the Senate by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) because the measure would not renew an expiring waiver in his home state. Sen. Wyden dropped his objections after receiving a letter from Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson indicating that Oregon would not be subject to federal sanctions if it continued to operate its welfare programs outside federal rules.
The House passed its version of the welfare reauthorization bill (H.R. 4) on June 11. The Senate Finance Committee has not yet crafted its version of a welfare reauthorization measure. Committee Chair Charles Grassley (R-IA) cited the tax cut and Medicare bills as his committee’s priorities, but he has indicated that he wants to move welfare legislation before the August recess.
