Velázquez Reintroduces Welfare Reform Bill

Velázquez Reintroduces Welfare Reform Bill
October 12, 2005

Initiative broadens welfare eligibility requirements; repeals time limits

NEW YORK - Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez (D-N.Y.) today reintroduced the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Recipients' Lifeline Act, legislation that extends funding for our nation's welfare programs and ensures low income individuals and families have access to this vital federal assistance.

"With 12.3 million children across America - and nearly 3 million in New York City alone -living in families with incomes below the poverty line, it is obvious that there is an immediate need to reform and extend our federal welfare assistance programs," Congresswoman Velázquez said. "But in the midst of rising gas prices, soaring housing costs, and dwindling payroll growth, low income and minority families continue to struggle to overcome an endless cycle of poverty. That is why this legislation, the TANF Recipients' Lifeline Act, is such a critical step in ensuring our nation's at-risk and hard-working families are no longer left behind."

The TANF Recipients' Lifeline Act has four main provisions, which will:
- Repeal the 5-year time limit on federal welfare benefits;
- Repeal provisions that bar legal immigrants from receiving welfare benefits;
- Require bilingual services at welfare centers across the country; and
- Adjust the annual TANF block grants to keep pace with inflation.

Welfare program funding was last reauthorized in the 1996 Welfare Reform Act. Although a temporary three-month extension through December 31, 2005 was signed into law at the end of September, a thorough reauthorization of the Welfare Reform Act is still outstanding - and desperately needed. The TANF Recipients' Lifeline Act outlines the critical steps needed to ensure a federal safety net is provided to individuals and families that are in need of immediate welfare assistance.

"At one of the most neediest times in our nation's history - including recent events in the Gulf Coast region that spawned the worst natural disaster this country has ever witnessed - we simply cannot leave Americans with no federal safety net and no place to turn," Congresswoman Velázquez said. "In order to overcome these cycles of poverty and strengthen the livelihood of our children, families, and communities, it is crucial that we act now to provide the most vulnerable with the assistance they need during these uncertain economic times. Now is the time to help working families in need - not turn them away."

http://www.house.gov/velazquez/PressReleases/2005/pr101205.htm