House Human Resources Subcommittee to Mark up TANF Bill; Other TANF Reauthorization Proposals Introduced

IMMIGRANTS & PUBLIC BENEFITS

TANF Reauthorization

House Human Resources Subcommittee to mark up TANF bill; other TANF reauthorization proposals introduced
Immigrants' Rights Update, Vol. 16, No. 2, April 12, 2002

A number of competing proposals to reauthorize the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program awaited consideration by Congress when it returned from its spring recess on Apr. 8, 2002. On April 9, House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources Chairman Wally Herger (R-CA) introduced HR 4090, the Personal Responsibility, Work, and Family Promotion Act of 2002. Rep. Herger's bill is very similar to President George W. Bush's TANF proposal, and will be the starting point for further action in the Ways and Means Committee. The subcommittee had scheduled a hearing for April 11, and the bill will be revised during the week of April 17. House members hope that the bill will make it out of the full Ways and Means Committee towardj the end of April, with a vote in the House expected by early May. In the Senate, Sens. Thomas Carper (D-DE) and Evan Bayh (D-IN) have released an outline of their TANF proposal, which adopts many of President Bush's provisions. Sen. John D. Rockefeller (D-WV) has also introduced a TANF reauthorization bill, which includes some of the National Governor's Association's (NGA's) recommendations on benefit restorations for immigrants.

President Bush's Proposal. On Jan. 26, 2002, President Bush released an outline of his administration's TANF proposal, which is titled "Working Toward Independence." President Bush would maintain the five-year ban on welfare benefits for "qualified" immigrants entering the country on or after 1996, to "ensure that welfare policy neither attracts noncitizens to the U.S. to take advantage of welfare nor induces welfare dependency among noncitizens who do receive welfare benefits." The Bush proposal resuscitates the myth that immigrants come to the U.S. to seek benefits, despite overwhelming evidence demonstrating that immigrants come to reunite with family and seek employment. Immigrant rights advocates were disappointed with the president's proposal, which seems inconsistent with his own budget. In the budget he submitted for the coming fiscal year, the president proposed to restore food stamps to qualified immigrants who have been in the country for five years.

The Bush TANF proposal also increases work requirements for recipients. Under current law, states are required to enroll 50 percent of their TANF recipients in a defined set of work activities for at least 30 hours a week. The Bush plan augments the required hours per week from 30 to 40 and raises the percentage of recipients who must be working to 70 percent by 2007. At the same time, the administration's proposal phases out the "caseload reduction credit" under which a state's work activity participation rate requirement is reduced if the state's TANF caseload has declined since 1995 for reasons other than changes in eligibility rules. The credit has greatly reduced or eliminated work participation rate requirements in many states.

The combination of these two proposals would significantly increase the number of persons who would be required to work, even as unemployment remains high. Many individuals who remain in TANF programs have multiple barriers to employment. Meeting the administration's proposed work rates would require states to make substantial additional investments, but the administration's proposal includes no additional funding. Efforts to meet these high participation rates would likely force states to reduce their current investment in child care and other programs that help working families with low incomes.

The administration's proposal removes much of the flexibility currently available to states in designing programs that meet the unique needs of each recipient. The plan would let states count 16 hours of education or other job preparation toward the 40 hours of required "work." Unlike current law, the president's proposal would not allow job search and vocational education to count toward satisfying the recipient's first 24 hours of the work requirement. Under Bush's proposal, participants in substance abuse treatment programs, job training, or rehabilitative services could receive an exemption from the work requirement for up to 3 months every 2 years.

Finally, the Bush proposal eliminates the separate rate for two-parent families. Under current law, the federal government imposes a 90 percent work participation rate on two-parent families and a 50 percent rate for single-parent families. In effect this allows states to discriminate against two-parent families in establishing eligibility for benefits and services under TANF. Rules that limit participation by two-parent families disproportionately affect low-income immigrant families, which are twice as likely as low-income U.S.-born families to be headed by two parents.

Carper/Bayh Proposal. Sens. Carper and Bayh also released the outline of their TANF proposal, called the Work and Family Act, at a press conference on Feb. 27, 2002. The proposal mirrors the Bush proposals in a number of ways, including its lack of benefit restorations for immigrants. Like the Bush proposal, the Carper/Bayh proposal increases work requirements for all families and work participation rates for states.

Sen. Rockefeller's TANF Bill (S. 2052). Unlike the other two proposals, Sen. Rockefeller's bill, released on Mar. 21, 2002, includes many positive proposals for low-income immigrants. The bill is titled The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act Amendments of 2002.

The following provisions in the Rockefeller bill assist low-income immigrants.

Elimination of Five-Year Bar in TANF and Reduced Deeming in Cash Assistance. Currently, most qualified immigrants who entered the U.S. on or after Aug. 22, 1996, are subject to a five-year bar on receiving TANF assistance. After the five-year bar, the income of many immigrants' sponsors may be "deemed" to be available to them until they become citizens or work for approximately ten years. This "sponsor deeming" rule renders most immigrants ineligible for services, including cash assistance, English as a second language (ESL) classes, and job training. Even if immigrants are eligible for assistance because their sponsor's income is very low, sponsors may be required to reimburse the government for TANF benefits that the immigrant receives. Sen. Rockefeller's bill limits deeming to three years and imposes this restriction only on cash assistance. As under current law, sponsors would be liable and could be sued by the TANF agency if the sponsored immigrant manages to obtain cash assistance during the deeming period.

State Option to Provide Medicaid and SCHIP to Pregnant Women and Children. Under current law, qualified immigrants—including pregnant women and children—who arrived on or after Aug. 22, 1996, are also barred for five years from receiving health benefits under Medicaid or the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). After the five-year bar, the income of many immigrants' sponsors may be deemed to be available to them until they become citizens or work for approximately ten years. As with TANF, this sponsor deeming rule renders most immigrants ineligible for services. Sen. Rockefeller's bill gives states the option of providing federal health care to lawfully present immigrant children and pregnant women during the five-year bar. The bill also eliminates deeming and sponsor liability for these women and children in the states that choose this option.

GAO Study to Analyze the Impact of the Immigrant Restrictions in SSI. Currently, most immigrants who entered the U.S. on or after Aug. 22, 1996, are ineligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). SSI provides a cash safety net for seniors and persons with disabilities who have little or no income or resources. The Rockefeller bill would require the Government Accounting Office (GAO) to study the impact of the immigrant restrictions.

Inclusion of ESL as a Work Activity. The 1996 welfare law established work "participation rates" for families receiving TANF assistance. To count toward the work participation rates, individuals must participate in one of a set of work-related activities listed in the statute. Currently, ESL classes are not explicitly listed as a work activity. Several states allow ESL as "education related to employment" or "job readiness," both of which are federal work activities. But, depending on the activity, there are limits on the period of time that recipients can participate or on the percentage of the caseload that can participate. Under Sen. Rockefeller's bill, ESL classes would be considered a countable work activity, which would give states greater flexibility in choosing how best to serve their limited English-proficient (LEP) population.

Elimination of Separate Eligibility Requirements and Work Participation Rates for Two-Parent Families. Like the Bush and Carper/Bayh proposals, the Rockefeller bill eliminates the separate work participation rate for two-parent families. The bill also prevents states from imposing stricter eligibility criteria for two-parent families. The Rockefeller bill includes a number of other provisions that would assist low-income individuals, including increased funding for the TANF block grant. The bill would also increase funding for child care, allowing more recipients to participate in post-secondary education. Sen. Rockefeller's proposal would also extend the period of time that recipients can participate in vocational education from 12 to 24 months and provide states grants to assist recipients facing barriers to work (including limited English proficiency). In addition, states would be given the option to replace the caseload reduction credit with an employment credit.

National Governor's Association's Winter Policy Statement. As noted above, the Rockefeller bill adopted some of the recommendations issued by the NGA in its Winter Policy Statement. The NGA proposes to do the following:

Restore food stamps for qualified immigrants.
Grant states the option to use federal funds for TANF during the federal five-year bar. The NGA asks Congress to allow states to provide federal TANF to post-Aug. 22, 1996, entrants during the five-year bar.
Restore federal Medicaid and SCHIP to pregnant women and children. The NGA priorities endorse the Immigrant Children's Health Improvement Act of 2001 (S. 582, H.R. 1143), which gives states the option of providing federally funded health care to lawfully present immigrant children and pregnant women regardless of their date of entry.
Eliminate the separate two-parent family participation rates. As noted previously, under current law the federal government imposes a 90 percent work participation rate on two-parent families and a 50 percent rate for single-parent families. Like the Bush and Carper/Bayh proposals, the NGA asks Congress to eliminate the separate rate for two-parent families.
Grants greater flexibility to states to define work activities. Current law defines a set of work activities in which recipients must be engaged to fulfill the first 20 hours of their work requirement. The NGA asks Congress to give states greater flexibility to define what counts as a work activity. States would then be better able to assist recipients facing multiple barriers to employment, including low literacy levels, mental illness, substance abuse, learning disabilities, limited English proficiency, and domestic violence.