[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 54 (Wednesday, April 30, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3846-S3847]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. WELLSTONE (for himself and Mrs. Murray):
  S. 671. A bill to clarify the family violence option under the 
temporary assistance to needy families program; to the Committee on 
Finance.


               the family violence option ii act of 1997

  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, today I am pleased to be introducing 
the Family Violence Option II, a bill to clarify the Wellstone/Murray 
Family violence option Act contained in the Personal Responsibility and 
Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. Last summer, Senator 
Murray and I introduced the family violence amendment to the welfare 
bill to give States the flexibility to identify victims and survivors 
of domestic abuse and, if necessary, to provide more time to remove the 
domestic violence barrier so that victims would be able to move into 
the work force. Our provision was changed to a State option, but that 
did not change the intent of the legislation.

[[Page S3847]]

  States helping battered women should not be penalized for not having 
the requisite number of women at work in a given month if domestic 
violence is the reason. Most importantly, battered women should not be 
competing with the myriad people with disabilities that prevent them 
from working. Abuse victims and survivors may simply need a little more 
time. That is why the family violence option allows States to grant 
temporary waivers, not exemptions.
  Many States have adopted the family violence option, others, some 
version of it, but most have had great difficulty figuring out what 
taking the option would mean. Senator Murray and I want to make sure 
States that take domestic abuse into account when setting work goals 
will not pay a price. Therefore, this bill makes it clear that victims 
of domestic abuse will not be counted in the 20 percent hardship 
exemption and States who grant temporary waivers of work requirements 
to abuse survivors will not be penalized if they fail to meet their 
work requirements.
  Evidence continues to emerge about the high number of incidents of 
domestic abuse or a history of abuse among welfare recipients. Most 
recently, a joint study from the Taylor Institute in Chicago and the 
University of Michigan confirmed that large numbers of women on AFDC 
are survivors or current victims. Four recent studies--conducted by 
Passaic County, NJ, Univ. of Massachusetts, Northwestern University, 
and the Better Homes Fund in Worcester, MA--document that at least 14 
percent--Passaic County, NJ--and as high as 32 percent--Worcester, MA--
of women on AFDC were currently being abused. The numbers were more 
than twice those percentages for a history of abuse.
  Given the extent of this problem, it is imperative that States be 
able to work at a more individualized pace, not a one-size-fits-all 
approach. I would like to share a story about a woman from Minnesota 
who has used the safety net of public assistance to free herself and 
her children from violence, obtain job skills and training, and become 
self-supporting.
  Edith is a woman who has defied the odds. She had her first child at 
the age of 16. By the time she was in her early twenties, she had 
become an intravenous drug user, had three more children, and was in an 
extremely violent relationship. Edith's abuser beat her routinely and 
savagely, sending her to the emergency room again and again. As Edith 
says, ``Finally, I realized that to save my life and my mental 
stability, I had to get away.'' She waited until her abuser had passed 
out and carefully pried the car keys from his hand and fled Gary, IN, 
with her young sons.
  Edith fled to Minnesota because she had family there. Within months 
her abuser found her, forcing her to flee to a battered women's 
shelter. Edith quickly realized that if she was ever going to be able 
to support her children, she would need to get the educational and job 
training that she desperately needed. It was at that point that Edith 
contacted Cornerstone's Transitional Housing Program. Cornerstone is a 
successful women's advocacy program in Bloomington, MN.
  Edith and her children came into the program in 1992. Utilizing 
educational and vocational resources, Edith entered a vocational 
program for electricians. While in Cornerstone's Transitional Housing 
Program, Edith was able to address the many issues that had resulted 
from her battering, including parenting, bad credit, and chemical 
dependency, just to name a few. With support of the program staff, 
Edith completed the apprenticeship and graduated from the Cornerstone 
program.
  I am proud to tell you that Edith will become a licensed electrician 
this summer. She has just purchased her first home and has set a new 
goal to become a contractor. Edith would tell you that had she not been 
given the time and the opportunity to participate in a transitional 
housing program specifically for battered women, she could not have 
accomplished all of her goals.
  We need to insure that women like Edith have the support system in 
place to escape abusive situations, make the transition to work, and 
then stay working. When women can support themselves and their children 
they can stay away from abusive partners and keep themselves and their 
families safe. I urge my colleagues to support this important 
legislation.
  Mr. President I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 671

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds that--
       (1) the intent of Congress is amending part A of title IV 
     of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) in section 
     103(a) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity 
     Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-193; 110 Stat. 
     2112) was to allow States to take into account the effects of 
     the epidemic of domestic violence in establishing their 
     welfare programs, by giving States the flexibility to grant 
     individual, temporary waivers for good cause to victims of 
     domestic violence who meet the criteria set forth in section 
     402(a)(7)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
     601(a)(7)(B));
       (2) the allowance of waivers under such sections was not 
     intended to be limited by other, separate, and independent 
     provisions of part A of title IV of the Social Security Act 
     (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); and
       (3) under section 402(a)(7)(A)(iii) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
     602(a)(7)(A)(iii)), requirements under the temporary 
     assistance for needy families program under part A of title 
     IV of such Act may, for good cause, be waived for so long as 
     necessary.

     SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF WAIVER PROVISIONS RELATING TO 
                   VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.

       (a) In General.--Section 402(a)(7) of the Social Security 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 602(a)(7)) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:
       ``(C) No numerical limits.--In implementing this paragraph, 
     a State shall not be subject to any numerical limitation in 
     the granting of good cause waivers under subparagraph 
     (A)(iii).
       ``(D) Waivered individuals not included for purposes of 
     certain other provisions of this part.--Any individual to 
     whom a good cause waiver of compliance with this Act has been 
     granted in accordance with subparagraph (A)(iii) shall not be 
     included for purposes of determining a State's compliance 
     with the participation rate requirements set forth in section 
     407, for purposes of applying the limitation described in 
     section 408(a)(7)(C)(ii), or for purposes of determining 
     whether to impose a penalty under paragraph (3), (5), or (9) 
     of section 409(a).''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) 
     takes effect as if it had been included in the enactment of 
     section 103(a) of the Personal Responsibility and Work 
     Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-193; 
     110 Stat. 2112).
                                 ______