[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 39 (Thursday, April 11, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S2587]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KERRY:
  S. 2116. A bill to reform the program of block grants to States for 
temporary assistance for needy families to help States address the 
importance of adequate, affordable housing in promoting family progress 
towards self-sufficiency, and for other purposes; to the Committee on 
Finance.
  Mr. KERRY. Madam President, I am pleased today to introduce the 
Welfare Reform and Housing Act. This bill contains measures to improve 
access to adequate and affordable housing for families eligible for 
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, TANF, benefits.
  It is essential that low-income families struggling to make the 
transition from welfare to work have access to affordable, quality 
housing options. Families with housing affordability problems are often 
forced to move frequently, which disrupts work schedules and 
jeopardizes employment. Many of the affordable housing options are 
located in areas that have limited employment opportunities and are 
located a long distance from centers of job growth. Furthermore, high 
housing costs can rob low-wage workers of a majority of their income, 
leaving insufficient funds for child care, food, transportation, and 
other basic necessities.
  Maintaining stable and affordable housing is critically important to 
holding down a job, yet an alarming number of low-income families do 
not have access to affordable housing. The data from Massachusetts is 
shocking: in order to afford a two-bedroom unit at the fair market rent 
established by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD, a 
minimum-wage worker would have to work 105 hours per week; in 1995, 
2,900 poor families used private homeless shelters, while in 2000 the 
number grew to 4,300, with a majority of these families being low-wage 
workers who had once been on welfare. Lack of affordable housing is not 
a problem exclusive to Massachusetts. The Brookings Institution found 
that nearly three-fifths of poor renting families nationwide pay more 
than half of their income for rent or live in seriously substandard 
housing. Nationwide there are only 39 affordable housing units 
available for rent for every 100 low-income families needing housing. 
And for the fourth year in a row, rents have increased faster than 
inflation. We must address the issue of affordable housing during 
reauthorization of the welfare law because many low-income families hit 
this formidable roadblock on their path to employment.
  Though access to affordable housing is often left out of the 
discussion of welfare reform, it is crucial that we address this issue 
during our reauthorization of the welfare reform law this year. The 
welfare reform legislation will not allocate considerable new funds to 
increase affordable housing opportunities, however, modifications to 
the TANF statute can be made to address the problem by other means. 
That is why today I am introducing the Welfare Reform and Housing Act. 
This legislation will address the housing issue in the context of 
welfare reform in six major ways:
  First, the measure will make it simpler for states to use TANF funds 
to provide ongoing housing assistance. TANF-funded housing subsidies 
provided for more than four months would be considered ``non-
assistance'' instead of ``assistance''. By considering these subsidies 
as ``non-assistance,'' states that want to implement housing assistance 
programs using TANF funds will not have to work within the constraints 
of current Health and Human Services rules surrounding ``assistance'' 
subsidies.
  Second, the bill would encourage states to consider housing needs as 
a factor in TANF planning and implementation. My legislation would 
direct the Department of Health and Human Services to work with the 
Department of Housing and Urban Development to gather increased and 
improved data on the housing status of families receiving TANF and the 
location of places of employment in relation to families' housing. 
States will be required to consider the housing status of TANF 
recipients and former recipients in TANF planning.
  Third, the legislation would allow states to determine what 
constitutes ``minor rehabilitation costs'' payable with TANF funds. It 
is now permissible to use TANF funds for ``minor rehabilitation'' but 
there is no guidance from HHS on what types or cost of repairs are 
allowable, making it difficult for states to determine the extent to 
which using TANF funds in this area is permissible. By allowing states 
to define what constitutes ``minor rehabilitation,'' more states with 
similar needs will follow suit. A recent study of the health of current 
and former welfare recipients found that non-working TANF recipients 
were nearly 50 percent more likely than working former recipients to 
have two or more problems with their housing conditions. Research has 
shown that poor housing conditions often can cause or exacerbate health 
problems.
  Fourth, my bill would encourage cooperation among welfare agencies 
and agencies that administer federal housing subsidies. By improving 
the dialogue between public housing agencies and state welfare 
agencies, the two groups will be able to enter into agreements on how 
to promote the economic stability of public housing residents who are 
receiving or have received TANF benefits.
  Fifth, the legislation would authorize HHS and HUD to conduct a joint 
demonstration to explore the effectiveness of a variety of service-
enriched and supportive housing models for TANF families with multiple 
barriers to work, including homeless families.
  Finally, my bill would clarify that legal immigrant victims of 
domestic violence eligible for TANF and other welfare-related benefits 
are also eligible for housing benefits. The proposal would ensure that 
abused immigrant women seeking protection under the 1994 Violence 
Against Women Act that are also eligible for other federal benefit 
programs have access to federal housing programs under section 214 of 
the Housing and Community Development Act.
  Recent proposals made by the Administration and some members of 
Congress aim to increase work requirements for families receiving TANF 
funds. Therefore it is important that we are committed to ensuring that 
low-income families have a fair chance at employment. We have made 
progress addressing many barriers to work for low-income families such 
as child care, job training, and transportation. But in order to fully 
support families make the transition to work we must address the 
shortage of adequate and affordable housing. The Welfare Reform and 
Housing Act brings housing into the welfare reform dialogue and aims to 
help ameliorate the housing problem so that low-income families leaving 
welfare have a chance to succeed in the work force.
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