Ranking Member Doggett Expresses Disappointment in Failure to Include Supplemental Grant Program in TANF Extension, Calls Out Republican Hypocrisy

Rep. Doggett also noted during hisremarks that allowing the Supplemental Grant program to expire is in starkcontrast to Republicans' previous support for this program. In October of 2001,Governor Rick Perry sent a letter to Tom DeLay urging the extension of TANFSupplemental Grants, saying that: "These grants have played an important role inhelping hard-working men and women in Texas achieve independence from publicassistance. Congress designed the supplemental grants to address the criticalprogram needs of states with especially high population growth and/orhistorically modest welfare benefits. They are critical to enabling us to helpeven more Texans move from welfare to work" [letters illustrating Republicansupport of TANF supplemental grants attached].

"We cannot allow funding for the TANF program toexpire. But we also need to move past ‘the very least we can do' and startresponding to the mounting challenges facing struggling families,"said Rep. Doggett. "We need a policy that ismore safety net than hole. And I hope eventually we can work together toachieve that."

The bill passed by voice vote. To see Rep. Doggett'sremarks, please clickhere.

[Rep. Doggett'sremarks as prepared for delivery]

This is a bipartisan bill, which Ifully support, but it is important to understand what this bill does and what itdoes not do. It is important to understand upon which provisions we agree andwhich ones we accept as only being better than the alternative of allowing thisimportant law and all those who count on it to expire nextweek.

Last week, the Census Bureaureported that more Americans were poor in 2010 than at any time on record. Regrettably, my home State of Texas was leadingthe way, with one of the highest poverty rates anywhere in America. The Texas Centerfor Public Policy Priorities, a non-partisan group, recently reported that "theheart of the American Dream is at risk in Texas. For the first time in generations,more people are falling out of the middle class than joining itsranks."

What a struggle it is for thosefamilies trying to hold on. In a neighborhood near downtown San Antonio, Andrew Ramosand his wife, Nina, are struggling just to keep food on the table for themselvesand their 2-year-old-daughter. Andrew lost his job, and Nina works at a localpizza parlor where she makes about $200 a week. There are so many families justlike the Ramos family—almost one in five in poverty in Bexar County.

As John Turner at the Capital AreaFood Bank concludes, "Hunger is a result of lack of income and of a livablewage," Mr. Turner said. "It affects too many of our citizens under the currentTexas economicmodel." The demands on our Food Banks, which serve as effective localpublic-private partnerships, are immense. The Capital Area Food Bank this yearis delivering 50% more food to the poor than it did three yearsago.

But I don't hear anyone facing up tothis harsh reality—not our Governor in Texas,not the President of the United States, certainly not theleadership here in the House. In fact, the Administration has shown littleinterest and almost no guidance in reforming this legislation.

Rather than respond to risingdeprivation and declining opportunity, today's legislation simply continues foranother three months our current, inadequate policies that constitute TemporaryAssistance for Needy Families Act or TANF. This is a program that todayprovides direct assistance to only one out of every five children living inpoverty. That's the lowest level of poor children receiving direct assistancesince 1965. In Texas, is it much worse –only about 1 in every20 poor children receiving assistance fromTANF.

The bill before us could make thisproblem even worse in many high poverty States because it fails to extend theTANF Supplemental Grants. A generation ago, as part of the 1996 reform of thewelfare law, a reform that I personally supported, TANF Supplemental Grant fundswere set aside to help the States that were negatively affected by the federalformula.

Ever since, Texas and a number of States have depended on these moniesin order to provide assistance that their families need even at the relativelylow levels that Texas funds.

In fact, the term "supplemental" isreally a misnomer. If these grants are not extended, states will lose more than$3 billion over the next decade to help struggling families and to promote work-- $500 million of that in my state of Texas. Allowing these grants to expire breaksthe deal on welfare reform that was struck 15 yearsago.

If we don't pass the TANF extension,TANF programs could shut down all across the country. Cash assistance would ofcourse be affected, but cash assistance is only about a third of TANF spending. Funding would be eliminated for a variety of programs supporting child care,work support, school dropout prevention, pregnancy prevention, and home visitsby nurses to at-risk families with infants and young children. Though we can'tsay exactly what states would do if the Supplemental Grants are now renewed,CPPP in Austin says that a failure to extend Supplemental Grants would mean"programs and services— most notably child protective services—will have to becut or funded with general revenue in the next budgetcycle."

Allowing these grants to expireis in stark contrast to Republicans' previous support for this program. In Oct.2001, Rick Perry sent a letter to Tom DeLay urging the extension of TANF SuppGrants, saying that: "These grants have played an important role in helpinghard-working men and women in Texas achieve independence from publicassistance. Congress designed the supplemental grants to address the criticalprogram needs of states with especially high population growth and/orhistorically modest welfare benefits. They are critical to enabling us to helpeven more Texans move from welfare to work"

Mr. Speaker, we cannot allow fundingfor the TANF program to expire. But we also need to move past "the very leastwe can do" and start responding to the mounting challenges facing strugglingfamilies.

TANF has not been adequatelyresponsive to the increased level of need in these bad economic times.

Just this month, I heard fromClaudia Herrington, a nonprofit Community Relations coordinator, who seeseveryday the plight of families who are struggling to make ends meet inCentral Texas. The folks served by El BuenSamaritano, primarily low income Latino families, work hard to provide for theirfamilies. But they simply cannot do so when there is a drought of opportunityand too few livable wage jobs. Claudia says:

This isnot the American dream I believe in. This is not the American dream my fatherbelieved in when he emigrated from Cuba in the 1960's. I know ourcountry is better than that, regardless of political affiliation. And I knowthat investment in our people and their ability to earn a decent living is aworthwhile policy.

We need a policy that is more safetynet than hole. And I hope eventually we can work together to achievethat.

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