Contact: Antonia Ferrier (202) 224-5344
Wednesday, December 14, 2005

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME) led an effort to head off hasty consideration of major changes to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Snowe and five of her Republican colleagues sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) urging him to oppose the inclusion of the TANF reauthorization provisions in the current House-Senate Conference charged with reconciling the two chambers’ spending reduction bills.

“It would be irresponsible to make significant changes to a program that has such a huge impact on millions of families without first fully considering these changes in an open and deliberative way,” said Snowe. “If we attempt reauthorization of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program in the context of a spending reduction bill, we run the risk of making impossible demands on families that are already struggling to make ends meet. I am particularly concerned that we provide adequate child care assistance in any reauthorization bill. If we want the over 2 million families on welfare to be able to transition to work and remain off welfare, we must ensure that they have access to quality, affordable child care.”

Joining Senator Snowe in sending the letter to Majority Leader Frist were Senators Mike Dewine (R-OH), Susan Collins (R-ME), Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Norm Coleman (R-MN). Following is the text of the letter:

Dear Majority Leader Frist:

As you move forward with the budget reconciliation Conference, we urge you to resist efforts to include reauthorization of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program as part of a final budget reconciliation package.

The Senate Finance Committee has crafted a bipartisan TANF reauthorization bill, S.667 (the "PRIDE Act"), which takes a common-sense approach to welfare reform. The Senate bill raises standards on states but provides them with the flexibility and resources they need to get the job done and help families move toward self-sufficiency. By comparison, the House bill dramatically increases work requirements for families while limiting the options for work activities in which to enroll TANF participants.

We also want to highlight the critical role child care plays in helping families transition from welfare to work. The absence of a safe, reliable child care arrangement can be a barrier to a parent obtaining and keeping a job, particularly for single parents with children under age 6. According to a 2002 study, single mothers with young children who receive child care assistance are 40 percent more likely to be employed after two years than mothers who did not receive such assistance.

For a parent already working towards financial independence, child care can be the budget buster that forces a family to retreat back onto the welfare rolls. Unfortunately, the level of child care funding included in the House budget reconciliation package is not commensurate with the increased work requirements. This could result in a significant number of children in low-income working families who are not on TANF losing child care assistance.

A number of groups support reauthorizing TANF outside the confines of the budget reconciliation process, including the National Governors Association and the National Council of State Legislatures. While it is imperative that Congress continue its support of state efforts to help working parents attain self-sufficiency and end the cycle of dependence, we urge you to oppose the inclusion of the TANF reauthorization provisions during Conference and ask you to consider TANF reauthorization outside of reconciliation.

We look forward to working with you as this process continues and thank you for your consideration.

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