wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] Washington Office signs on to welfare letter

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Note #8432 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

04317
July 15, 2004

Washington Office signs on to welfare letter

Coalition wants program that can lift families out of poverty

by Evan Silverstein

LOUISVILLE - 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

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