Washington Office signs on to
welfare letterCoalition wants program that can
lift families out of poverty
by Evan Silverstein, Presbyterian News Service
Click here for the same report on the PNS website.
LOUISVILLE --
July 15, 2004 -- The Presbyterian Washington Office has joined a number of
other religious groups in urging completion of a welfare-reauthorization
plan being considered by the Senate Finance Committee.
The Washington Office, which advocates for the policies
of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in Congress, joined the other faith
groups in sending a letter to U.S. senators about the federal government's
principal cash-assistance program for low-income families, Temporary
Assistance to Needy Families (TANF).
The other groups that signed on include the Union for
Reform Judaism, Bread for the World, American Baptist Churches USA, the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the United Methodist Church.
The coalition, the Interreligious Working Group on
Domestic Human Needs, says in the letter, "We are extremely disappointed
that Congress has not yet passed a long-term reauthorization to strengthen
the program so families can move out of poverty."
TANF, enacted by Congress in 1996, replaced a
60-year-old entitlement program that provided cash assistance to the
nation's poorest people. Its original authorization expired on Sept. 30,
but it has been extended for a year by continuing resolutions.
The TANF rolls have decreased by about 60 percent since
the program got under way in 1997, but researchers say most of those who
no longer receive welfare are still impoverished.
The robust economy of the late 1990s created millions of
jobs, but many paid poorly and did not include health insurance and other
benefits. It was those least attractive jobs, for the most part, that were
taken by people leaving TANF. As the economy has slowed, those jobs have
been disappearing, and the welfare rolls are growing again in most states.
The House passed its TANF bill (HR 4) last year,
essentially endorsing a proposal from the Bush administration. The Senate
has repeatedly postponed debate on the issue while dealing with other
priorities.
The full text of the letter, dated July 13:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
July 13, 2004
Dear Senator:
As organizations in the
faith community, we call on Members of Congress to complete action on a
reauthorization of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). This
important legislation was designed to lift families out of poverty, enable
individuals to gain skills needed to work and earn enough to meet basic
human needs, and improve child well-being. While we are thankful that
Congress has again passed a three-month extension of current law to fund
TANF through September 30, 2004, we are extremely disappointed that
Congress has not yet passed a long-term reauthorization to strengthen the
program so families can move out of poverty.
One of the purposes for
enacting TANF legislation in 1996 was to allow states to design their own
programs in ways most suited to their residents. By repeatedly failing to
reauthorize TANF since its authorization expired nearly two years ago,
Congress is denying the states the certainty of funding and clarity of
program direction that they need to operate their programs most
effectively. These necessary securities would accompany a full five-year
reauthorization.
We have long advocated
for reauthorization to strengthen TANF by including:
· adequate funding for
child care;
· the restoration of
benefits for immigrants;
· expansion of education
and training opportunities;
· maintenance of the
current work requirement, particularly as it applies to parents of
pre-school children;
· flexibility for states
to extend time limits for families facing severe barriers to employment;
and
· enabling families to
receive more of the funds collected through child support enforcement.
Although the Senate
Finance Committee's PRIDE bill, including the Senate-passed amendment on
childcare funding, is an improvement over the House-passed TANF
reauthorization bill (H.R. 4), each falls far short of providing the
conditions that will help TANF recipients overcome poverty through
family-supporting employment. We urge you to examine the many evaluations
of TANF's first six years that are now available, to listen to the voices
and experiences of low-income families and the service providers who work
with them, and to produce a five-year reauthorization of TANF that will
truly lift these families out of poverty.
Sincerely yours,
American Baptist Churches USA
American Friends Service Committee
Bread for the World
Call to Renewal
Central Conference of American Rabbis
Church of the Brethren Witness/Washington Office
Church Women United
Equal Partners in Faith
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Friends Committee on National Legislation
The Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Mennonite Central Committee U.S., Washington Office
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA
NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
Presbyterian Church (USA), Washington Office
Union for Reform Judaism
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries
United Methodist Church-General Board of Church and Society
Women of Reform Judaism
