Letter to Senators Frist, Daschle, Grassley and Baucus

December 12, 2003

The Honorable Bill Frist, Majority Leader
United States Senate, S-230
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Tom Daschle, Minority Leader
United States Senate, S-221
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Charles Grassley
Chair, Finance Committee
United States Senate, SD219
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Max Baucus
Ranking Member, Finance Committee
United States Senate, SD219
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senators Frist, Daschle, Grassley and Baucus:

In passing the CARE Act through the Senate earlier in the year, we believe one of the key provisions was the full restoration of funding for the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG). As you know, unlike many of the provisions in the bill that are scored for five and ten years, the SSBG provision is only a one-year full restoration, with a year ramp-up stage. Unfortunately, our House counterparts did not take the same approach, and the Senate SSBG provision will now be debated in conference. We ask your full support in making sure that the final version of the CARE Act sent to the President for his signature contains the full Senate SSBG language that includes the ten percent transfer authority from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to SSBG and the additional $1.375 billion in funding over a two-year period.

SSBG is a flexible block grant that addresses the needs of children and families, the elderly and vulnerable adults and helps them avoid more expensive government assistance by remaining in the community in the most independent setting possible. With a changing economy, and growing pressure on health care and human service budgets, using cost effective and flexible strategies to address these demands are not an option but a necessity. In this time of fiscal crisis, states, localities, and non-profit organizations can no longer sustain the over one billion dollars in SSBG cuts that they have been forced to absorb over the past few years.

Added to the already difficult circumstances states are facing, Congress and the Administration have sent a clear signal that faith-based and community organizations should have a stronger role in the delivery of social services. We agree this is an important part of serving the children, elderly, and disabled adults who depend on SSBG-funded programs and services. However, we also recognize that many of these organizations rely at least in part on SSBG funding, and increased demands on an already weakened system cannot be met without restoring the promised resources.

We understand that compromises are necessary to bring this bill to final passage. However, the SSBG provision passed by this chamber has already been compromised during earlier discussion around the legislation. Therefore, we ask your support in protecting this vital source of greatly needed social service funding to local communities by including the full Senate CARE Act language on SSBG in final legislation.

Sincerely,

Joe Lieberman (D-CT)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Bob Graham (D-FL)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Evan Bayh (D-IN)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

John B. Breaux (D-LA)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Maria Cantwell (D-WA)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Thomas R. Carper (D-DE)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Jon S. Corzine (D-NJ)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Mark Dayton (D-MN)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Christopher J. Dodd (D-CT)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Byron L. Dorgan (D-ND)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Richard J. Durbin (D-IL)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

John Edwards (D-NC)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Russell D. Feingold (D-WI)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Tom Harkin (D-IA)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Earnest F. Hollings (D-SC)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

James M. Jeffords (I-VT)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Tim Johnson (D-SD)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

John F. Kerry (D-MA)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Herb Kohl (D-WI)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Mary L. Landrieu (D-LA)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Carl Levin (D-MI)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Blanche L. Lincoln (D-AR)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Patty Murray (D-WA)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Bill Nelson (D-FL)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Benjamin E. Nelson (D-NE)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Mark Pryor (D-AR)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Jack Reed (D-RI)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Paul S. Sarbanes (D-MD)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Charles E. Schumer (D-NY)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Ron Wyden (D-OR)
UNITED STATES SENATOR