[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 42 (Tuesday, March 30, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E476]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              TANF REFORM

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                          HON. DANNY K. DAVIS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 30, 2004

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, we have failed to make a real 
TANF reform that helps the working poor low-income single parents, 
children of poverty stricken families, and especially the men and women 
who have a drug conviction.
  The TANF program contains several provisions that could decrease 
funding for individuals who received a drug felony conviction, which 
includes use, possession, or distribution. There is a lifetime ban on 
TANF and food stamps for individuals who receive a drug felony 
conviction after August 22, 1996, unless the State enacts legislation 
to disregard the ban completely or narrow it. Only 7 States and the 
District of Columbia have completely opted out of the ban with another 
18 states allowing benefits to be paid to individuals with drug felony 
conviction in certain circumstances. For instance, in only three states 
the ban does not apply to those who finish their sentence and comply 
with their parole or probation, six states do not apply the ban to 
those in treatment or who have completed treatment. However, 41% of 
States ban TANF and food stamps based on the conviction alone. A report 
in 2002 estimated that the ban affected 92,000 women in 23 States 
studied.
  Mr. Speaker, this is not a State issue. This is our Nation's issue. 
If we do not help all of those in need, if we stop giving assistance to 
some of our most needy, those with an addiction or who have been 
falsely accused of this conviction, our Nation will end up paying for 
it with higher rates of crime, higher recidivism rate, and a number of 
individuals remaining drug-users. The National Treatment Improvement 
Evaluation Study found that women treated in federally funded treatment 
programs increased their employment and decreased their use of welfare. 
The number who reported being employed in the year after treatment 
increased by 25 percent. Incomes also increased by 6 percent while the 
number receiving public assistance decreased by 8 percent. This clearly 
demonstrates that punishment and banning assistance is not the answer. 
Instead, federal assistance will assist to produce working, tax-paying 
citizens.

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