Preventing Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in Tanf Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1333, I call up the bill (H.R. 8872) to amend part A of title IV of the Social Security Act to target funds to low-income families, strengthen program integrity guardrails for State expenditure of funds, require measurement of improper payments, and establish goals for eliminating fraud and improper payments under the program of block grants to States for temporary assistance for needy families, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 8872, the Preventing Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in TANF Act, introduced by my Ways and Means Committee colleague Representative Mike Carey.

With an annual price tag of over $16 billion, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program is a sizable investment and plays a critical support role for families who have fallen on hard times. A core tenet of the program is promoting self-sufficiency through work, a goal I know many of us see as a cornerstone of a successful welfare system.

Unfortunately, right now, there are major weaknesses in the TANF program that make it ripe for waste, fraud, and abuse. Despite the billions of dollars flowing through TANF, it is one of the few Federal programs we have that is not required to account for improper payments.

Additionally, investigations and reporting conducted by the Government Accountability Office found that the 78 percent of TANF spending that goes toward non-assistance activities lacks guardrails to prevent abuse and misuse of these Federal resources.

With instances of fraud occurring at an alarming rate across multiple government programs at the Federal, State, and local levels, Congress must act. That is why the Ways and Means Committee has held hearings and conducted critical oversight to determine what solutions will protect taxpayers and the families who should be benefiting from programs like TANF.

The Preventing Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in TANF Act is a straightforward piece of legislation that addresses four key areas of concern, reflecting priorities of four members of the Ways and Means Committee.

The lead sponsor of this bill, Representative Carey, has fought to keep States from sitting on TANF funds while families struggle. Right now, States are holding on to nearly $8 billion in funds because there are no spending deadlines holding them accountable. This legislation requires that States spend down their TANF funds within a 3-year window.

Representative Arrington, the chairman of the House Budget Committee who is a leader in the fight to rein in waste, fraud, and abuse in government, has championed a provision within this bill that finally requires the Federal Government to track and report instances of improper payments. This reporting is crucial to ensuring that policymakers and the American people know if tax dollars are being spent as advertised.

With her understanding of how States often repurpose TANF funds to cover unrelated gaps in State budgets, Representative Tenney has worked to ensure States only use Federal TANF resources to supplement, not replace, State and local spending.

Thanks to the leadership of Representative Adrian Smith, who has worked to ensure TANF funding is actually going to those truly in need of assistance, this bill includes a provision that establishes an income threshold of 200 percent of the Federal poverty line, which is $62,000 for a family of four, to ensure States are targeting TANF spending to give more to those who are truly in need.

These policies defend against the abuse and misuse of taxpayer dollars and improve the integrity of the TANF program to better support those it was created to serve.

I am grateful for the leadership of the members of the Ways and Means Committee who have made weeding out waste, fraud, and abuse in our Federal welfare programs a priority.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. LaHood), the chair of the Subcommittee on Work and Welfare.

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Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from Illinois.

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Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, before I yield to the gentleman from Ohio, I just have to say that it is reckless to say on this floor that someone has stolen anything when they have never been criminally charged for anything. That is very, very bad for any Member of Congress to say that to a regular, everyday American who has never been charged with anything. Democrats should be ashamed.

Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Carey).

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Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bean).

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Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Tenney).

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Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman).

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Mr. SMITH of Missouri. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Miller).

Mr. Speaker, waste, fraud, and abuse have no place in our government and certainly no place in programs meant to provide critical assistance to our Nation's most vulnerable.

The Preventing Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in TANF Act is a targeted and timely piece of legislation that protects the American taxpayers' hard- earned money and ensures that resources get to families who are truly in need of our help.

I appreciate my Ways and Means Committee colleagues for the time, attention, and work that they have contributed to this reform effort, and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

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