The welfare reform debate has taken on new life as a result of the National Governors’ Association’s (NGA) unanimous approval of a new welfare policy.
They have taken the conference agreement on the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, H.R. 4, vetoed by the president Jan. 9, as a starting point and have made suggestions for changes. Some of these changes include an increase of $4 billion for child care; an increase of $1 billion for a contingency fund; retaining the entitlement structure of the foster care and adoption assistance programs, but with a state option for a capped block grant; greater flexibility in the work requirements; no funding cap; and a continued entitlement for food stamps, but with a block grant option.
The Human Resources Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on the NGA proposal Feb. 20. The Senate Finance Committee scheduled hearings on the 22nd and the 28th. The rest of the legislative calendar is unclear.
Subcommittee Chairman Clay Shaw (R-Fla.) said that legislative language has not been drafted yet, and that he does not know when the committee may officially take up a new bill because it depends on the leadership’s floor calendar. Since this is an election year, there are not that many legislative days left, which means that the committees would have to act soon if they expect to have legislation enacted this Congress.
Both Republicans and Democrats on the subcommittee praised the governors for their bipartisan approach, but there are clear differences in their approach to the proposal. Committee democrats had more reservations. Most of their concerns centered on the level of funds that states would provide for child care and cash assistance.
There was also some discussion among subcommittee members about the Administration’s participation in the hearing. The Administration did not send a witness to the Ways and Means hearing, but Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala was scheduled to testify at the Finance Committee hearing.
The Older Americans Act expires at the end of this fiscal year. The only significant legislative action to date was a markup by the Early Childhood, Youth and Families Subcommittee of the House Economic and Educational Opportunities Committee. The full committee has not yet scheduled a markup.
Although the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee does not have a bill yet, they may mark up legislation at their next executive session, which is scheduled for Feb. 28.
Some of the key provisions of the House subcommittee bill, H.R. 2570, are: consolidating 23 programs into nine; replacing the perscriptive federal requirements in Title III, which provides grants to area agencies, with performance partnership agreements; eliminating the separate funding stream for research and demonstrations; and changing the targeted population from low-income minorities to those with the greatest social need.
(Prepared by Marilina Sanz, associate legislative director.)
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