[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 57 (Wednesday, May 8, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H2212]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             WELFARE REFORM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen) is recognized 
for 5 minutes
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to bring to the attention of my 
colleagues the plight of the U.S. offshore Territories as it relates to 
welfare reform and the reauthorization process currently being 
undertaken in the House.
  Mr. Speaker, although the U.S. Territories, Guam, Puerto Rico, and my 
district, the U.S. Virgin Islands, are required to meet all the TANF 
requirements, they do not have access to all of the tools that other 
jurisdictions have to successfully move people from welfare to work.
  Mr. Speaker, the Territories are island jurisdictions, where the 
ability to move from one jurisdiction to another in search of work is 
just impossible. As a consequence, in the Virgin Islands, while our 
welfare rolls have been lowered, we have failed to meet the work 
participation rates. Despite the fact there was no work to send the 
many willing participants to, we have been penalized by fines.
  This in itself is unfair, given our special circumstances, but also 
consider the fact that we do not receive several other sources of funds 
that States have at their disposal to overcome similar obstacles. We 
get no supplemental grant funds, even though our average dollars per 
person are extremely low; and we do not receive contingency funds, even 
though we have experienced economic downturns and high unemployment.
  That is why the gentleman from Guam (Mr. Underwood) and I have joined 
the gentleman from Puerto Rico (Mr. Acevedo-Vila) in sponsoring H.R. 
4236 to bring parity to the U.S. Territories as they seek to move their 
citizens from welfare to work.

                              {time}  1615

  We will be seeking to have this included in a substitute bill. H.R. 
4236 would include Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands in the TANF 
supplemental grants for population increases and exclude this funding 
from the section 1108 cap.
  TANF supplemental grants are specifically intended to assist States, 
and it should be territories also, with higher than average growth 
rates and/or lower than average welfare funding per poor person. The 
latter characterizes my district.
  It would also include Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands 
in the TANF contingency fund, and also exclude this funding from the 
section 1108 cap. The TANF contingency fund was intended to assist 
localities in times of economic downturns when the need for family 
assistance is greater, evidenced either by significantly higher 
unemployment rates, or significant increases in the utilization of food 
stamps. Both are operative in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and currently 
the TANF contingency fund excludes the Territories.
  H.R. 4236 would also provide Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin 
Islands access to all of the funding streams under the Child Care 
Development Block Grant and the matching grant, while excluding this 
from the section 1108 cap. These Territories receive CCDF funding under 
the general block grant discretionary funds. However, they are not 
authorized to receive funding under 2 subprograms under entitlement 
grants, the mandatory and matching funds. Provisions to authorize these 
two funds could provide up to $70 million for child care if matching 
funds requirements were met.
  Another area, title IV-E foster care, we would like to take that out 
of the section 1108 cap as well. Title IV-E foster care is included in 
the section 1108 cap. As a result, abused and neglected children in 
foster care services compete for Federal funds with needy families on 
TANF, poor seniors, and blind and disabled individuals. This is 
compounded by the fact that Medicaid is also under a cap.
  We would ask in this bill that the Territories be reimbursed for 
providing transitional medical assistance to TANF leavers outside of 
the current Medicaid cap. States receive reimbursement for the medical 
cost of TANF recipients while they move into work. Currently the 
Territories are not authorized to participate in this element of 
Medicaid, and even if they were, because of the Medicaid cap, the 
Territories would not be allowed to receive any reimbursement for these 
costs.
  If the Territories are expected to meet the same work requirements as 
the States, it is essential that they be authorized access to receiving 
similar Medicaid reimbursements for their TANF recipients.
  Mr. Speaker, I come before this body because it is important that all 
of our colleagues understand the unique plight of the Territories. We 
want to help our constituents make the step from welfare to work. More 
than that, we want to give them a hand up and out of poverty. I hope 
that when these issues are before this body, we will have the support 
of our colleagues to give the Territories parity in the effort to 
reauthorize welfare reform and to give us the tools to make welfare 
reform a real success in our districts.

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