good info on the Gregg bill

[proud2BlibKansan]

Gregg Bill – A coalition of concerned agencies and individuals submitted letters to Senators Bond and Talent about the Gregg Bill. The group included: CMC, Child Day Care Association, Jewish Family & Children’s Service, Missouri Budget Project, Missouri Retired Teachers Association & Public School Personnel, and the Southwest Center for Independent Living. Here are our concerns about the Gregg Bill:

· Locking the Cuts: The Gregg Bill would lock in the funding cuts proposed in the President’s budget for the next three years, ultimately requiring $66 billion in cuts to services. These proposed cuts would adversely affect thousands of vulnerable people in Missouri.

· Depth of the Cuts: The breadth of cuts required under the Gregg Bill is astounding. The bill would force funding cuts in environmental programs, farm programs, law enforcement programs through the Department of Justice, adoption and foster care and veteran’s services. Cuts to vocational education and community development programs would result in a direct hit on Missouri’s economy.

· Federal Deficit Provision: The Gregg bill requires that the federal deficit be reduced by 2012 to .5% of the Gross Domestic Product. The burden for the deficit reduction is placed on discretionary domestic programs alone. Federal Tax cuts, Defense Spending and Social Security are exempt from reducing the deficit. This provision alone would require a shocking $1.7 Trillion in cuts to domestic programs between 2007 and 2016.

The coalition has asked Senators Bond and Talent to vote against the Gregg bill.

TANF – CMC is part of Voices for America’s Children, a national, nonpartisan child advocacy

organization representing more than 50 child advocacy member organizations committed

to speaking out for the well-being of children at all levels of government. Last week, staff from Voices testified before the House Ways and Means Committee, which conducted an

oversight hearing focusing on the outcomes of the Personal Responsibility and Work

Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) . Here are some of the testimony highlights:

Background on TANF - The PRWORA repealed the entitlement to individuals in the former Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program which was the primary source of federally funded family assistance and replaced it with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The goal of TANF is to support families and help them enter into sustainable employment, thereby reducing the need for public assistance.

Impact of TANF - Ten years after TANF was first established, millions of Americans and their families have moved from assistance and are now in sustainable employment situations that allow them to meet the needs of their children. Over the past decade, the number of single parents who found work and are no longer receiving TANF has increased significantly. During the same time frame, low-income families receiving cash assistance declined considerably, thereby allowing states to spend more TANF funds on other supports including child care, child welfare, job training and welfare-to-work programs. However, when the economy slowed down, many of these favorable indicators declined. Since 2004, single-parent employment has declined, poverty rates have grown and caseloads have flattened. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, less than half—only 48 percent—of the families eligible for TANF actually receive cash assistance and other welfare supports.

2006 TANF Reauthorization - Implications for Children and Families: The Deficit Reduction Omnibus Reconciliation Act (DRA), which passed in February this year, included a five year reauthorization of the TANF program with no increase in funding.

Harsh Requirements - The bill added stricter work requirements for TANF recipients. By 2007, states must have at least 50% of TANF adult recipients in single parent families meeting work requirements, and 90% of adults in two parent families must also meet the work requirements. Regulations were issued by HHS on June 29, 2006 and are set to go be finalized in August 2006.

Voices & CMC’s Concerns - Voices expressed its concerns and the concerns of its members, including CMC, that the regulations impose a strict definition of credited work activities thereby removing a state’s ability to develop innovative programs that are targeted to addressing the needs in their state. These new requirements may force parents to make tough choices between caring for their families and meeting work requirements. These changes may force states to focus on cutting caseloads and complying with rigid work requirements to avoid penalties, thus limiting eligibility even further and restricting poor families’ access to assistance.